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August 22 and 23, 2002 Capitol Building, Room # 302
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Committee Members
Senator Bill Barton and Representative Wayne Johnson, Cochairmen.
Senators Dick Erb, Gerald Geis and Bill Vasey.
Representatives Roy Cohee [August 22, 2002 only], David Edwards, Floyd Esquibel, Gerald Gay, Bud Nelson and Louie Tomassi.
Karen Ashcraft Byrne, Attorney.
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Senator Tex Boggs, Representatives Charles Hessenthaler, Marlene Simons
All meeting materials and handouts provided to the Committee by the Legislative Service Office (LSO), public officials, lobbyists, and the public are referenced in the Meeting Materials Index, attached to the minutes. These materials are on file at the LSO and are part of the official record of the meeting.
Chairman Wayne Johnson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Roll call was taken. [Appendix 2]. He gave a history of the Homeland Defense interim topic. Management Council gave the assignment to the Committee. The Committee reviewed the legislation given to them in May by the Counter-terrorism Commission. The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 3 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.
The Committee Meeting Summary of the Proceedings for the May 23 and 24, 2002 meeting was unanimously approved by the Committee. [Appendix 4].
Proposed Draft Legislation for Homeland Security
The Committee discussed the following draft legislation regarding homeland security issues that they had been introduced to at their May, 2002 meeting. [Appendix 5]. These issues are separate from the general transportation issues.
John Renneisen, Deputy, Attorney General's Office, and John Heller, Emergency Management Agency, stated that the Emergency Management Assistance Compact [EMAC] would allow states to receive from, and provide assistance to, other states during emergency situations. The proposed draft legislation for the compact introduced last year had been amended in ways that didn't conform to the national compact. [Appendix 6 and 7]. Only one other state has not passed this compact. [Appendix 8]. LSO had originally had concerns with this legislation that have since been addressed. [Appendix 9]. Colonel John Cox, Wyoming Highway Patrol, explained that this bill is based on a case-by-case basis while the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid bill is an ongoing agreement and does not require an emergency situation. After the Committee discussed the provisions of the draft legislation, Representative Tomassi moved, and Representative Nelson seconded, to use the original language of the compact and the motion passed. Representative Cohee moved, and Representative Edwards seconded, that on page 8, line 18 of the proposed legislation, after "remains" strike "in effect" and insert "in official capacity". The motion passed eleven to one with Senator Geis voting no. Representative Edwards moved, and Representative Gay seconded, to continue addressing this draft legislation as a potential committee bill. The motion passed with Senators Erb and Geis voting no. [Appendix 10]. The proposed legislation will include an annual report from the governor to the Committee.
Marty Luna, Executive Director, Homeland Security Commission, Brad Sarff, President of the Fire Chiefs Association, and Jim Noel, State Fire Marshal, spoke about the need for the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Act proposed draft legislation. It would provide advanced training for volunteer and paid firefighters responding to spills and accidents involving hazardous materials. The Committee discussed how the program would interact with the State Emergency Response Commission [SERC]. SERC was created by executive order. [Appendices 11 and 12]. SERC divides the state into six regions. [Appendix 13]. The 2001 annual report of SERC was given to the Committee. [Appendix 14]. Representative Cohee suggested defining what the "advisory board" should be. He suggested an amendment defining the advisory board. [Appendix 15]. On page 8, line 18, the amendment would delete "state fire marshal" and insert "governor. On page 8, line 20, the period would be changed to a colon and the written amendment would be added. Senator Geis moved, and Representative Tomassi seconded, to adopt the amendment with numbering changes. The motion passes unanimously. Representative Edwards moved, and Representative Nelson seconded, to change the members of the political subdivisions from two to three to have a tiebreaker for voting. The motion passed unanimously. Representative Tomassi moved, and Senator Geis seconded, to substitute "may" for "shall" in regard to rule making. The motion failed. [Appendix 16]. Representative Edwards moved to remove "but is not limited to" on page 9, line 8 of the bill. CoChairman Barton seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. After the Committee determined that the bill needed a major reworking to be consistent, Senator Vasey moved, and Representative Tomassi seconded, to table the bill and study it at the next meeting. Staff was instructed to take into consideration how fire districts fit into the bill and who would represent them in litigation. The motion passed with CoChairman Johnson voting no. [Appendix 17]. CoChairman then moved, and Representative Cohee seconded, to continue looking at supporting the bill as a Committee bill. The motion passed. [Appendix 18].
Chairman Bill Barton called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m
Enforcement Interstate Response Act Proposed Draft Legislation would allow the state to enter into agreements with adjourning states to help each other's law enforcement persons. [Appendices 19 and 20]. Colonel John Cox, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and John Renneisen, Deputy, Attorney General's Office, testified about the need for this proposed legislation. Essentially, it is deemed necessary in two situations: (1) when some of our neighboring states can get to an incident sooner than our law enforcement personnel can and (2) when we or neighboring states have a situation that requires more man power than is available, e.g. the Winter Olympics in Utah. Tomassi suggested on page 9, line 6 to delete "March 1" and insert "September 1" and change the committee designated to receive reports to the Transportation and Public Highways Committee. CoChairman Johnson moved, and Representative Edwards seconded, to change duration of the contract from two years to four years. Senator Vasey moved, and Representative Tomassi seconded, to make that change on page 5, line 8 to change the "two" to a "four". The motion passed unanimously. Representative Tomassi moved, and Senator Vasey seconded, to change 2002 to 2003 on page 13, line 6 and make the Tomassi changes on page 9. The motions passed unanimously. Senator Vasey moved, and Representative Tomassi seconded, to introduce the proposed legislation with the amendments as a Committee House Bill. The motion passed unanimously. [Appendix 21].
The Public Records Act draft legislation is proposed in response to the events of September 11, 2001. There is a concern that terrorists will be able to use the public records act to obtain information helpful to their attacks. John Renneisen, Deputy, Attorney General's Office, introduced a new version of the amendments. [Appendix 22]. After discussion about the provisions of the revised bill, the Committee was concerned about some of the language in the bill. CoChairman moved and Representative Edwards seconded, that the proposed legislation be tabled and staff be instructed to work with Mr. Renneisen on changes to being to the next meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
John Renneisen, Deputy, Attorney General's Office, stated that he wished to withdraw the Bio-terror Hoaxes proposed draft legislation from the Committee's consideration but an amendment to existing state statutes might be brought to the Committee later.
The Committee was informed that the draft legislation was not finished and they might be requested to consider legislation later regarding SALECS.
Chairman Wayne Johnson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
The anti-terrorist bill and the model Emergency Public Health Authority proposed draft legislation were discussed. John Heller, Emergency Management Agency, Karl Musgrave, state epidemiologist and Brent Sherard, state health director spoke about the bill. The Committee was concerned that the model act gave unelected persons unlimited power. The Committee was also concerned that the bill might violate the prohibition against relating to more than one subject because the bill has components relating to the emergency response agency, the health department, the veterinary board, citizens and animals. The Committee had problems with some of the plain language of the proposed legislation being too broad. After a short break to determine if staff could work with the departments to repair the draft legislation, the cochairmen agreed that the legislation was too complicated and suggested the bill be tabled until the departments could work on the problems with staff. Senator Geis moved that the portion relating to the veterinary board be given to the Joint Interim Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee. Representative Esquibel moved, and Senator Vasey seconded, to table the bill with the veterinary portion being drafted for the Joint Interim Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee to consider. The motion passed unanimously.
The Committee decided to meet the end of October for two days in Cheyenne at the Capitol Building.
There being no further business, CoChairman Wayne Johnson adjourned the meeting at 9:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Representative Wayne Johnson,
CoChairman