Weekend #1

January 15, 2005

Well OK then, the opening week of the Legislature has come and gone; the pace will pick up and hit its stride in the coming week. Of course all of the citizens should be paying attention to what their own State Senator and State Representative are doing…right? And you do know who yours are…right?? They work for you!

One key guide to the true attitude of your legislators is to look at what bills are being sponsored by your Senate and House employees/legislators. Look here for the sponsor index…….

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/Index/SponsorIndex.pdf

If there is a specific issue area you are interested in, then you must go to the subject index……….

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/Index/SubjectIndex.pdf

To check on the committee action is a little bit difficult I have found out, although it could be improved with a simple addition to the website. In each committee room there is a whiteboard on the wall with a cumulative list of all bills assigned to a committee and their status. Unfortunately the same list is not part of the website at this point.

You can find out what bills are scheduled for the next day in each committee by going to…

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/CommMenu.HTM

And you can track the status of a bill, if you know the number, by going to this link…

http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2005/Status/STATUS.pdf

There is a legislative technology committee that could direct the legislative technology staff to add the additional committee info to the website, and I hope that with a little effort an improvement can be made.

Some changes in accountability would have to be the result of a change in the rules of either the Senate or the House; there are differences between the two sets of rules. There are other changes that can occur due to the tech committee making a request.

It is a little bit strange to be a non-legislator these days; I see things from a new perspective due to the change. But I am adapting to the new reality as best I can. You know how us hippies are!

Keith

Since it is Sunday, I thought it would be a good time to talk about legislative issues that have a Christian theme. Issues like taking care of our fellow citizens who really, really need the help.

Don’t kid yourselves, there are a large number of Wyoming citizens who are in desperate situations through no fault of their own, and need some assistance. And it just so happens that our Wyoming governmental coffers are overflowing and the means to help are available.

As examples, consider the elderly who are trying to survive on fixed Social Security incomes while facing the rising cost of living, children caught up in the DFS/legal system, battered women who need legal help to get away from their batterers, victims of acquired brain injuries, and numerous others. They need some help!

As one example, consider the plight of children who have been neglected and abused and are in the system. For about 4 or 5 years the Legislature has dinked around with ways to improving the way in which those traumatized kids are provided legal representation. The Joint Judiciary Committee is finally sponsoring an attempt to improve the situation, but the problem cries out for a more holistic effort.

The current system is a disaster. It is based on a county-by-county funding system that is mostly under funded and the kids are getting the shaft. That is bad enough, but the total cost to the State is more than it needs to be since the kids are not being given appropriate placements following their court appearances. Inappropriate placements mean that some kids are being sent to the wrong place time after time. It is the worst of both worlds.

I have read most of the media reports from the first part of the Session. As far as I can tell no one has mentioned the plight of abused and neglected kids as being worthy of mention as a critical problem - is there a reason for that?

Legislators and politicians are more than happy to vote for ‘death penalty’ drug bills for the political benefits, but show very little interest in getting at the real roots of the problems kids are facing every day.

It seems to me that with a little political leadership, the system could be truly reformed to both better serve the kids and save the state money. Are there any real leaders out there who are willing to step up to the plate and take a swing at really helping? The abused and neglected kids are waiting.