Committee Meeting Information

December 4 & 5, 2008

Game & Fish Regional Office

3030 Energy Lane

Casper, Wyoming

 

Committee Members Present

Senator Tony Ross, Cochairman

Representative Ed Buchanan, Cochairman

Senator Ken Decaria

Senator Drew Perkins

Senator Kathryn Sessions

Representative Deb Alden

Representative George Bagby

Representative Dan Dockstader

Representative Keith Gingery

Representative Erin Mercer

Representative Monte Olsen

Representative Mary Throne

 

Committee Members Absent

Senator Bruce Burns

Representative Lisa Shepperson

 

Legislative Service Office Staff

John Rivera, Senior Staff Attorney

 

Others Present at Meeting

Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.

 

 

Executive Summary

The Committee met on December 4 & 5, 2009 in Casper to consider draft legislation drafted for the meeting.  The Committee heard testimony relating to juvenile justice, judicial appointments; child support enforcement, district court fees, an update on the lien study task force, and carbon sequestration.  The Committee voted to sponsor several bills including 09LSO-0165.C1, judicial vacancies; 09LSO-0164.W2, Sex offender registration; 09LSO-0153.W2, Sequestration site unitization; 09LSO-0154.W1, Responsibilities of injectors and pore space owners; 09LSO-0310.W1, Sequestration-recoverable hydrocarbons; and 09LSO-0311.W1, Ownership of pore space-dominance of mineral estate.  This was the final meeting of the Committee for the 2008 interim.

 

Call To Order (December 4, 2009)

Chairman Buchanan called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m..  The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic.  Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.

 

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the September 8 & 9, 2009 Committee meeting were approved.

 

Juvenile Justice

State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice

Ms. Donna Sheen, Chair of the State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice (SACJJ) and Retired Judge Gary Hartman, who is currently working with the Governor's Office provided a preliminary copy of the 2008 Annual Report (Appendix 3) from the SACJJ.  Ms. Sheen explained the goals of the SACJJ, including designing a tracking system for juvenile offenders after Adrienne Frank, University of Wyoming, joins the Council.  Concurrent jurisdiction of the juvenile courts remains a problem for tracking of juveniles in the system.

 

Judge Hartman advised that the Interstate Compact For Juveniles was ratified by Illinois, as the 35^th state, so the Compact is now in effect.  A single point of entry is necessary to keep track of juveniles in the system, which can be developed either legislatively or through a system change.  He has proposed a system where the various law enforcement agencies that write citations would all submit the citations to the prosecutor's office for determination in which court the matter should be filed.  An assessment tool developed by the state of Washington would be very useful to determine the needs of the juvenile before appearing before the court.

 

Wyoming Prevention Framework Committee-Underage Drinking

Mr. Ernie Johnson, distributed Appendix 4, containing a comprehensive review of state alcohol statutes.  He invited Committee members to attend a forum to be held in Cheyenne on December 14 where underage and binge drinking will be the primary topics because those issues have been identified as the most important problems that have to be addressed with respect to underage drinking.  Binge drinkers comprise only 23% of the population, yet consume 76% of all alcohol in the state, and of the binge drinkers, 9% drink 41% of all alcohol consumed in the state.

 

Judicial Appointments

Chief Justice Barton R. Voigt presented the 2 bills prepared to address judicial appointment issues.

 

09LSO-0165.C1, Judicial vacancies

Chief Justice Voigt described the problem created by judicial reorganization and the need for the Supreme Court to be able to require a circuit court judge to live in the county where the circuit court is located.  This would allow quicker response by the circuit court and reduce costs for the state.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Senator Ross, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  The motion carried on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 4 ayes, and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 5 ayes, 1 no and 3 excused.  Senators Decaria, Perkins Ross and Sessions and Representatives Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Mercer and Olsen voted aye.  Representative Gingery voted no.  Senator Burns and Representatives Alden, Shepperson and Throne were excused.

 

09LSO-0223.C1, Judicial nominating commission list of nominees

Chief Justice Voigt explained the joint resolution to amend the Wyoming Constitution and the problem with the provision in Article 5, Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution requiring the Judicial Nominating Commission to submit a list of nominees to fill a judicial vacancy within 60 days.  He stated this is not a major problem for the Supreme Court and he would not be disturbed if the joint resolution is not approved for sponsorship.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Mercer, for the Committee to sponsor the joint resolution in the 2009 General Session.  The motion failed on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 2 ayes, 2 noes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 1 aye, 5 noes and 3 excused.  Senators Decaria and Perkins and Representative Olsen voted aye.  Senators Ross and Sessions and Representatives Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery and Mercer voted no. Senator Burns and Representatives Alden, Shepperson and Throne were excused.

 

Sex offender registration

Mr. Byron Oedekoven, Director, Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, explained the purposes of 09LSO-0164.W2, Sex offender registration.  He explained the bill would clarify that offenders will be required to register in 3 days after a change of circumstances, including a change or residence, employment or educational situation.  The registration would be with the appropriate sheriff's office, which would then submit the information to the Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

Senator Ross moved, seconded by Representative Olsen, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After amendments to the bill were adopted, the motion carried on a roll call vote. After amendments were proposed and adopted, the Senate Committee voted 4 ayes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 8 ayes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria, Perkins, Ross and Sessions and Representatives Alden, Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery, Mercer, Olsen and Throne voted aye.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendments to the bill were adopted:

Page 3-lines 14 and 15 Delete ", seeking employment".

Page 11-line 17                        Strike "writing" insert "person".

Page 12-line 11                        Strike "writing" insert "person".

Page 12-line 14                        Delete "list" insert "disclose".

Page 12-line 19                        Delete "immediately" insert "within three (3) working days".

Page 13-line 2              Strike "writing" insert "person".

Page 13-line 10                        Delete "immediately" insert "within three (3) working days".

Page 13-line 21            After "documentation" insert "that demonstrated that the offender was not convicted of an offense listed under subjection (j) of this section"; delete "re-evaluate" insert "modify".

Page 15-line 6              After "provided" insert "by mail, personally or by any other means reasonably calculated to ensure delivery of the notice".

Page 17-line 9              Before "ordered" insert "previously".

Page 18-line 6              Strike "writing" insert "person".

 

Other Matters

09LSO-0240.W2, Child support-suspension of drivers' licenses

Ms. Brenda Lyttle, Administrator of the Child Support Enforcement Program, Department of Family Services, provided the background of the provisions in title 20 of the Wyoming statutes relating to suspension of driver's licenses for nonpayment of child support obligations, which have never been implemented by Department of Family Services and seldom by the courts.  The bill would eliminate the authority for administrative suspensions of driver's licenses for failure to pay child support and would limit suspensions of driver' licenses to those obligors who are at least $5,000.00 in arrears. 

 

Mr. Christopher Smith distributed his comments to the Committee (Appendix 5).  He spoke in opposition to the proposal being presented by Ms. Lyttle.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Bagby, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After amendments to the bill were adopted, the motion failed on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 3 ayes, 1 no and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 4 ayes, 4 noes and 1 excused.  Senators Ross, Decaria and Sessions and Representatives Bagby, Dockstader, Gingery and Throne voted aye.  Senator Perkins and Representatives Alden, Buchanan, Mercer and Olsen voted no. Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendments were adopted before the bill failed on the main motion:

Page 4-After line 10    Insert  "(iii)  Files a petition for review pursuant to subsection (h) of this section.".

Page 4-line 12              Strike "out of a hearing".

 

 

Child Support Guidelines

Ms. Lyttle distributed a proposed updated table of child support guidelines (Appendix 6) and the quadrennial review of the Wyoming child support guidelines (Appendix 7), both published by the Center for Policy Research.  The findings include that the guidelines have been based on a percentage of household income that hasn't changed in many years, but the costs of maintaining a household have increased during the same time period.  The review proposes that: the percentages should be increased; three more steps should be added at the top of the table; the low income adjustment should be modified; and, the table should provide specific dollar amounts in each category, rather than requiring a computation to arrive at the amount for each category of income.  Appendix 7 also contains a proposal to require medical support orders.  By 2014, compliance with this requirement will become a performance measure for DFS by the federal government.  It may be necessary to wait until the new administration takes office to see what may be done with this proposal.

 

09LSO-0288.W3, District court fees.

Ms. Gen Tuma, Natrona County Clerk of District Court, presented the proposal of the Wyoming Association of District Court Clerks.  She advised that court fees in other states are significantly higher than in Wyoming, so the clerks of court thought it was time to revise those fees. 

 

Senator Perkins said district court fees are essentially user fees that do not fully pay the expenses of the district court.  Representative Gingery stated that county commissioners do not appear to be complaining about the current fees and if the only rationale for increasing the fees is that other states have higher fees, he couldn't support increasing the fees.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Bagby, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After amendments to the bill were adopted, the motion failed on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 3 ayes, 1 no and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 4 ayes, 4 noes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria, Perkins and Ross and Representatives Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader and Throne voted aye.  Senator Sessions and Representatives Alden, Gingery, Mercer and Olsen voted no.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendment was adopted before the bill failed on the main motion:

Page 1-line 1                            Delete "imposing and".

Page 1-lines 7 through 13        Delete  entirely.

Page 2-lines 11 through 17      Delete entirely.

 

Lien Study Update

Senator Ross explained that staff had contacted several participants from prior lien studies to solicit their participation in the lien study task force the Committee decided upon at the last meeting.  Staff also obtained the help of the State Bar in seeking additional persons interested in participating as volunteers on the task force.  Appendix 8 contains a list of the persons who have expressed interest in participating and their contact information.  Since Representative Shepperson will not be serving on the Committee next interim, she may or may not be interested in participating in the task force.  Senator Perkins was added as a potential legislative member of the task force.  The task force may meet by telephone conference call sometime in December to discuss the goals of the task force, but will probably not meet again until after early March, 2009.

 

Meeting Recess

The Committee recessed at 5:20 p.m.

 

Call To Order (December 5, 2009)

Chairman Ross called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m..  Representative Olsen stated this would be his last meeting of the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee and expressed his appreciation for the work and cooperation of committee members and staff in making the experience a very good one for him.

 

The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic.  Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.

 

Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Representative Tom Lubnau thanked the Committee for allowing him to present the bills he has drafted on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).  In addition to the 2 bills he had presented briefly at the last meeting, he has recently prepared 2 more to address minor clarifications to the CCS bills enacted last session.  North Dakota has enacted bills very similar to the bills Wyoming enacted into law last session and other states are also considering bill along the lines the Wyoming Legislature has started.  He requested the Committee, with the approval of the Cochairs, first consider the "clean up" bills before considering the more complex bills from the last meeting.

 

09LSO-0310.W1, Sequestration-recoverable hydrocarbons

Representative Lubnau explained this bill would amend 08HB90 to prohibit sequestration that would contaminate an oil and gas.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Dockstader, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After amendments to the bill were adopted, the motion carried on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 4 ayes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 8 ayes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria Perkins, Ross and Sessions and Representatives Alden, Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery, Mercer, Olsen and Throne voted aye.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendments to the bill were adopted:

Page 1-line 12              Delete "recoverable"; after "hydrocarbons" insert "recoverable in paying quantities".

Page 2-line 2                Delete "owner" insert "leaseholder".

Page 2-line 5                After "substances" insert "incident to the storage of carbon dioxide".

 

09LSO-0311.W1, Ownership of pore space-dominance of mineral estate

Representative Lubnau explained this bill would clarify the dominance of the mineral estate over the pore space.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Alden, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After an amendment to the bill was adopted, the motion carried on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 4 ayes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 8 ayes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria Perkins, Ross and Sessions and Representatives Alden, Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery, Mercer, Olsen and Throne voted aye.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendment to the bill was adopted:

Page 2-line 4                After "," insert "the severed mineral estate is dominant regardless of".

Page 2-line 6                Delete ", the severed mineral estate is dominant".

 

09LSO-0154.W1, Responsibilities of sequestration injectors and pore space owners.

Representative Lubnau explained this bill was unchanged from the bill as it was presented at the last meeting.

 

Representative Throne moved, seconded by Representative Dockstader, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After an amendment to the bill was adopted, the motion carried on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 4 ayes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 8 ayes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria Perkins, Ross and Sessions and Representatives Alden, Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery, Mercer, Olsen and Throne voted aye.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendments to the bill were adopted:

Page 2-line 4                Delete "material" insert "substances incident to the storage of carbon dioxide".

Page 2-line 14              Delete "material" insert "substances incident to the storage of carbon dioxide".

Page 2-line 17              Delete "material" insert "substances incident to the storage of carbon dioxide".

Page 2-line 19              Delete "material" insert "substances incident to the storage of carbon dioxide".

 

09LSO-0153.W4, Sequestration site unitization.

Representative Lubnau with Staff Attorney Ian Shaw explained the bill in detail.  The fourth version of the bill was prepared after comments were received from Craig Newman, an attorney in Casper with extensive experience in the area of oil and gas.

 

Mr. Newman advised this bill is necessary, but there are some imponderable issues with the concept.  For example, the federal government owns much of the mineral estates in Wyoming that may be impacted by unitization and it is unknown how the federal government will allow unitization of its estates under this bill.  Many of the concepts from the oil and gas area are being borrowed, but don't translate well to CCS.

 

Ms. Jill Morrison, Powder River Resource Council, asked for more study on the economic benefits and impacts before proceeding with the bill.

 

Mr. Ian Andrews, Pacificorp Energy, said it is necessary to move upstream on economic analysis of benefits first.

 

Representative Simpson recommended LSO to check with experts to see how paragraph (vi) on page 8 of the bill should be worded.  He asked the Committee to move the bill forward so it can be worker further.  Senator Schiffer agreed the bill should move forward as a committee bill so it can get more input within the state and nationally.

 

Representative Olsen moved, seconded by Representative Dockstader, for the Committee to sponsor the bill in the 2009 General Session.  After an amendment to the bill was adopted, the motion carried on a roll call vote. The Senate Committee voted 4 ayes and 1 excused. The House Committee voted 8 ayes and 1 excused.  Senators Decaria Perkins, Ross and Sessions and Representatives Alden, Bagby, Buchanan, Dockstader, Gingery, Mercer, Olsen and Throne voted aye.  Senator Burns and Representative Shepperson were excused.

 

The following amendments to the bill were adopted:

Page 1-line 13              Delete "federal".

Page 2-line 2                After "energy" insert "resources".

Page 3-line 18              Delete "department" insert "oil and gas conservation commission".

Page 4-line 2                After "any" insert "draft"; after "permit" insert "or permit".

Page 5-line 7                Delete "federal".

Page 5-line 21              Delete "carbon credits or other".

Page 6-line 1                After "for" delete the balance of the line.

Page 6-line 2                Delete the line through "benefits" and insert "market participation opportunities".

Page 8-line 9                Delete "income stream" insert "revenue".

Page 8-line 10              Delete ". For this".

Page 8-lines  11 through 15     Delete entirely.

Page 8-line 16              Delete the line through "space" and insert "taking into consideration costs and economic benefits required to capture, transport and sequester carbon dioxide".

Page 10-lines 8 through 29      Delete entirely.

Page 11-lines 1 through 5        Delete entirely.

Page 22-After line 2 Insert:

"Section 2.  W.S. 35-11-313(f)(ii)(F) is amended to read:

35‑11‑313.  Carbon sequestration; permit requirements.

(f)  The administrator of the water quality division of the department of environmental quality, after receiving public comment and after consultation with the state geologist and the advisory board created under this act, shall recommend to the director rules, regulations and standards for:

(ii)  Requirements for the content of applications for geologic sequestration permits.  Such applications shall include:

(F)  A site and facilities description, including a description of the proposed geologic sequestration facilities and documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant has all legal rights, including but not limited to the right to surface use, necessary to sequester carbon dioxide and associated constituents into the proposed geologic sequestration site.  In the event that the applicant does not have all legal rights necessary for the proposed geologic sequestration facility, the applicant may seek those rights pursuant to W.S. 35‑11‑314 through 35‑11‑317.  The department may issue a draft permit contingent on obtaining a unitization order pursuant to W.S. 35‑11‑314 through 35‑11‑317;".

 

Mr. Ron Hurless, Governor's Office, thanked the Committee on behalf of the Governor for its lead on this topic.

 

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Ross adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Senator Tony Ross, Cochairman                                              Representative Ed Buchanan, Cochairman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix		Appendix Topic		Appendix Description		Appendix Provider
1		Committee Sign-In Sheet		Lists meeting attendees		Legislative Service Office
2		Committee Meeting Agenda		Provides an outline of the topics the Committee planned to address at meeting		Legislative Service Office
3		Wyoming State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice 2008 Annual Report		Provides findings, goals and recommendations of  the Council for 2008		Donna Sheen, Chair, State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice
4		Wyoming Prevention Framework Communities		Provides a comprehensive review of Wyoming alcohol statutes, with findings and recommendations		Ernest Johnson, Director, Wyoming Prevention Framework Communities
5		Testimony of Christopher Smith		Describes Mr. Smith's opposition to the draft bill proposing to make it easier for the suspension of driver's licenses for failure to pay child support		Christopher Smith
6		Wyoming Child Support Guidelines Review: Proposed Updated Tables		Provides the proposed revised child support guidelines table and rationale therefor		Brenda Lyttle, DFS
7		Brief for the Quadrennial Review of the Wyoming Child support Guidelines: Medical Support		Describes the broadened federal requirements of medical support in child support guidelines, with recommendations		Brenda Lyttle, DFS
8		Table of persons who have volunteered to participate in lien study task force		Provides the names and contact information of persons who have volunteered to participate in lien study task force		Legislative Service Office