Wyoming Has The Worst Gender Wage Gap in America

Sorry, Wyoming. You have the worst gender wage gap in America. Our state ranks dead last in the nation for the gap between the wages of men and women whether calculated by year round work or measured by hourly or weekly wages. Nationally, women working full-time make on average 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. In Wyoming, women earned only 67 cents
for every dollar earned by men.

To honor the 50^th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the ACLU Women’s Rights Project has joined a coalition of national and state-based women’s rights organizations for the Equal Pay Today! Campaign which calls for an end to the gender wage gap that exists in nearly every industry and profession in the country. They are joining together to call for action to end the practices and close the loopholes in existing laws that contribute to shocking wage gap. These practices include: 

·         Less pay for the same job: Women are paid less than men in nearly every occupation.

·         Job segregation: Sex role stereotypes lead to women being segregated into female-dominated lower-paid jobs.

·         Retaliation against workers for discussing their pay: A majority of employees report that they are either prohibited or actively discouraged from discussing their pay.

·         Pay reductions due to pregnancy and caregiving responsibilities. Employers pay women less from the moment of hire and deny them promotions because they automatically presume women will have children and then will commit less time and dedication to their jobs.

·         Wage theft: Women in many industries are being paid less than the minimum wage and less than a living wage, being shorted hours, being forced to work off the clock, not being paid overtime, or not being paid at all. 

 

The Equal Pay Today! Campaign sent letters to Governor Mead encouraging him to provide leadership in Wyoming to close our state’s wage gap. Read the June 10 and August 20 letters submitted to Gov. Mead.

We hope that one day there will be equal pay in the Equality State. TAKE ACTION and tell Gov. Mead you support equal pay for equal work.

Learn more about the Equal Pay Today! Campaign here.

The NSA Unchained

Contrary to what defenders of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs would have us believe, the communications of each and every one of us are clearly vulnerable to government spying.

As we have learned from recent media disclosures, under the Patriot Act, the government has been secretly tracking the calls of customers of major telecommunications companies for years. And under the unconstitutional FISA Amendments Act, the NSA obtains the contents of online communications from many of the Internet companies we have come to rely on for our basic, day-to-day interactions, like Google and Facebook. The government can access much of this incredibly sensitive data about people – including the contents of Americans’ communications with people overseas – whom it does not suspect of any wrongdoing, and without any meaningful judicial oversight. As an advocate for the constitutional right to privacy from government intrusion, this is cause for major concern. 

 

The more we learn about these programs, the more it becomes clear that the surveillance state is upon us. But we have the power to stop it. Congress must rein in government spying by fixing the Patriot Act and FISA and providing a full public accounting of the NSA’s data collection program. 

 

In the wake of the recent revelations about the NSA's unprecedented mass surveillance of phone calls, the ACLU filed a lawsuit charging that the program violates Americans' constitutional rights of free speech, association, and privacy. Learn more about the ACLU’s effort to stop the NSA.

It’s Time to End the Failed War on Marijuana

Marijuana has become the drug of choice for police departments nationwide – a trend that is playing out with major consequences here in Wyoming. According to a new report released yesterday by the ACLU, police in Wyoming made 2,254 marijuana arrests in 2010. 93% of these arrests were for possession, not for the manufacture or sale of marijuana – which means that thousands of people have been unnecessarily ensnared in our criminal justice system just for having marijuana for their own personal use.

Over the last twenty years, police have turned much of their zeal for fighting the misguided War on Drugs towards the enforcement of marijuana laws in communities across the country. And like America’s larger War on Drugs, America’s War on Marijuana has been a failure. Despite being a priority for police departments, their aggressive enforcement of marijuana laws has not diminished the use or availability of marijuana.

How is this failed War on Marijuana impacting Wyoming?

• Over-policing. In 2010, cops in the United States made one marijuana bust every 37 seconds. Once ensnared in the criminal justice system, people can lose their liberty, money, time, jobs, public benefits, child custody, drivers’ licenses and student aid, and can be deported.

• Wasted Time and Money. Wyoming spent approximately $9,148,026 enforcing marijuana laws in 2010 – money that could have been otherwise invested in our communities to enhance public health and safety, drug treatment programs, and police-community relations.

• Unacceptable Racial Bias. Marijuana usage rates are similar among Blacks and whites, yet Blacks in Wyoming are 3.2 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

The aggressive enforcement of marijuana possession laws needlessly mires hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system, crowds our jails, wastes billions of taxpayers’ dollars, fails to reduce marijuana use and availability and diverts precious police resources away from solving serious crimes.

As the ACLU’s report makes clear, it’s time to rethink our marijuana laws and enact sensible reforms.

Take Action! Click here to sign the ACLU Action petition calling for an end to marijuana arrests.

Why Does the Wyoming ACLU Advocate For Prisoners?

Because the character of society is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members. In a country that imprisons more people than any other in the world, someone must look out for the vulnerable human beings behind bars — both for their sake while they are incarcerated and for society's sake when they are released. In fact, about 97% of Wyoming prisoners will eventually return to our communities. How we treat prisoners should give us an idea of what we should expect from them when they come home.

Data compiled from complaints received from prisoners in Wyoming is being released in the second annual report “Incarceration In Wyoming,” which provides details about the numbers and nature of complaints the organization received in 2012. Deficiencies in medical and mental health care continue to top the list of complaints from prisoners in Wyoming. Poor medical and mental health care generated thirty percent of complaints from prisons, and well over a quarter of the complaints from jails.

We hope that making this information available will increase public awareness, accountability and transparency of detention facilities in Wyoming. Promoting humane conditions of confinement, consistent with constitutional protections like health, safety and human dignity, is one of our highest priorities.

We have also started to look at the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners in Wyoming – the practice of confining a prisoner alone in a cell for 22‐24 hours a day with little human contact and severe restrictions on privileges, such as reading material, television, visitation and participation in rehabilitative group activities. There is a popular misconception that solitary is used only for the most violent and dangerous prisoners. In fact, many low‐risk prisoners may be housed in solitary because they have broken minor rules or filed lawsuits. At WDOC institutions, 506 prisoners were held in solitary confinement in the past year, 146 of them diagnosed as mentally ill.

Wyoming has no statutes that address minimum standards for jails or prisons. The Wyoming ACLU is the only agency in the state that will investigate or review inmate complaints regarding the conditions of confinement.

“Incarceration” includes a directory of all Wyoming Department of Corrections institutions and county jails, along with “Know Your Rights” information. We distribute these resource guides to inform prisoners of their constitutional rights based on the nature of their complaint.

>>> Download<<<
“Incarceration in Wyoming: 2012 Report on Prison and Jail Complaints” (in pdf)

ESPC: A Great Organization for Wyoming

The Equality State Policy Center (ESPC) held its bi-annual retreat at the Saratoga Inn on April 24th. I have been a member of this organization for a number of years and have gained an enormous amount of fulfillment from this association. The bi-annual retreat gives us time to discuss past successes and failures, and plan for the next two years’ work.

The ESPC is a progressive “think-and-do tank” that utilizes research, public education and advocacy to advance a cooperative program of work designed to establish and maintain accountability in state government and to substantially increase public participation in and influence over public-policy decision-making. Its programs fall into three main areas: government accountability; tax and fiscal policy; and Wyoming working families.

The ESPC started in 1994 with a small group of dedicated individuals who were interested in a more transparent state government. The group originated a “lap book” which recorded legislative votes and donor connections. This led to more transparency and the recording of votes by the Wyoming Legislature. The current state legislative website provides a great deal of legislative information. The ESPC continues to work on greater accountability, and would like to see more legislative votes recorded.

Fair taxation, workers’ rights, voting and election issues are some of the other areas the ESPC staff and member organizations continue to address. The board finalized the priorities for the next two years: government accountability, water protection, workers’ rights and taxation issues. As with most organizations, the ESPC struggles with too many issues and too few resources.The ESPC and the ACLU of Wyoming work in tandem on many issues during legislative session, and it is an honor to work with such effective coalition partners.

The ESPC's next board meeting will be held on September 17th in Sheridan. The public is welcome to attend these meetings.

Linda Burt
Executive Director
ACLU of Wyoming

Drones Over America: Science Fiction or Reality?

Unmanned aircraft carrying cameras raise the prospect of a significant new avenue for the surveillance of American life. Many Americans have heard of these aircraft, commonly called “drones,” because of their use overseas in places like Afghanistan and Yemen. But drones are coming to America, and protections must be put in place to guard our privacy.

As technology is quickly becoming cheaper and more powerful, and interest in deploying drones among police departments is increasing around the country, our privacy laws need to be strengthened in order to ensure that this new technology will be used responsibly and consistently with democratic values.

States like Idaho and Virginia have already passed legislation to limit the use of drones in their states; Florida and Montana are also considering statewide drone legislation. Will Wyoming be the next state to enshrine individual privacy protections against drone surveillance into its statutes? We certainly hope so.

The ACLU released a report which outlines a set of protections that would help protect Americans’ privacy in the coming world of domestic drones. The report recommends that drones should not be deployed unless there are grounds to believe that they will collect evidence on a specific crime. If a drone will intrude on reasonable privacy expectations, a warrant should be required. The report also calls for restrictions on retaining images of identifiable people, as well as an open process for developing policies on how drones will be used.

Routine aerial surveillance in American life would profoundly change the character of public life in the United States. Rules must be put in place to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this new technology without bringing us closer to a “surveillance society” in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded, and scrutinized by the authorities.

>>Download<< the 2011 ACLU report Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance: Recommendations for Government Use of Drone Aircraft.

Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do The Time

Jordon Steffen’s March 2013 article in The Denver Post began with this sentence:

“The number of juveniles committed to the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections has dropped by 44 percent in seven years, the result of programs that have put more focus on rehabilitation than detention.”

Joshua Wolfson’s February 26 Casper Star Tribune article, “Wyoming locks away fewer juveniles, but still lags behind rest of nation,” states that even though Wyoming is jailing fewer children that it has in the past, Wyoming still detains more youth than any other state in the nation but South Dakota. While the rest of the nation has seen a steep decline in the rate of juvenile detention Wyoming has a youth detainment rate nearly twice the national average.

Not only is Colorado’s youth detention rate down; their juvenile justice system numbers are down in other areas:
• 28% decline in juvenile arrests
• 1,160 fewer juvenile court cases in the past year
• 13% decline in youth recidivism rates in 2012

Colorado’s elected officials made a unified and concentrated effort towards reforming their juvenile justice system and worked to bring Colorado to the forefront of the nationwide movement to provide youth with a system that is effective in guiding children to successful and productive lives.

The Colorado system uses a number of best practices techniques including:
• early intervention
• mentors
• mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation
• individual treatment plans for each juvenile

Youth corrections savings can now be moved into child welfare programs in order to provide services for at risk children as young as 5.

In order to achieve what Colorado and other states are accomplishing, a state must have not only a unified juvenile justice system, but elected officials that are engaged and knowledgeable about reform. Wyoming has neither.

ACLU hosts “Code of the West” film screening in Cheyenne

Ballot initiative victories in Colorado and Washington have brought a new political significance to the national conversation about marijuana policy. A screening of the documentary film Code of the West will be hosted by the ACLU of Wyoming on Tuesday, March 26th at 6:30 pm in the Willow Room at the Laramie County Library in Cheyenne, followed by a community discussion led by Leonard Frieling. The screening is part of a national film tour.

Code of the West documents the Montana Legislature’s debate of marijuana regulation and follows the political process of marijuana policy reform – and the recent federal crackdown on medical marijuana growers across the country. The film tracks key figures on each side of the debate.

Leonard Frieling is a member of LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). He is a former Municipal Court judge for the City of Lafayette, Colorado, and was instrumental in the efforts surrounding Amendment 64. Mr. Frieling currently practices criminal defense law in Boulder, Colorado.

Today, medical marijuana is at a serious crossroads. The ACLU of Wyoming is hosting this film as part of its mission to bring attention to the harms resulting from our current drug policies. With neighboring states like Montana and Colorado enacting sensible drug law reforms, this subject is more relevant than ever to Wyoming.

Please join us at our screening of Code of the West and learn more about the issue.

This event is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, March 26th at 6:30 pm
Laramie County Library – Willow Room
2200 Pioneer Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001

Click here for more information

The End of the Trail: 2013 Legislature comes to a close

The 62nd Wyoming legislature convened on January 8th for the 2013 general session and adjourned this week leaving extra days available for next year’s budget session. Tuesday night our staff celebrated at the Capitol Club's annual taco party where legislators and lobbyists have some good food and fun after all their long days.

There were the inevitable disappointments this year: HB168, Representative Connolly’s domestic partnership bill, and HB169 which would have changed the definition of marriage to a contract between two natural persons, both failed. The marriage equality bill failed in committee and the domestic partnership bill failed on the House floor. It was, however, great to see all the support for the domestic partnership bill and the fact that it got to the floor was a considerable step forward.

Senator Rothfuss’ discrimination bill, another pro-LGBT measure which would’ve added sexual orientation and gender identity to our discrimination law, was also defeated. It is past time that Wyoming should add this protection to its statutes, and the failure to do so was extremely troubling. Our office regularly receives complaints from LGBT employees regarding employment discrimination, and we are unable to assist them as our law provides no protections for these individuals.

Another disappointment was the voting rights bill, HB129 that Rep. Dan Zwonitzer has worked so hard on – this bill died Monday on third reading in the Senate by one vote. The bill streamlined the process for non-violent felons to reclaim their right to vote. These individuals have completed their sentences and paid their debt to society, and it is a way to bring offenders back into the community as participants and should be strongly supported. These laws that disenfranchise felons came about after the civil war, part of a series of state bills, including literacy tests and poll taxes to disenfranchise newly freed slaves. It is really frustrating to see legislators continue to vote no on a bill simply because they believe that citizens that have made a mistake must be punished endlessly.

Once again, our work with Sharon Breitweiser of NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming, and Planned Parenthood, defeated two really bad anti-choice bills. Representative Kroeker sponsored HB97, which would’ve outlawed abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. This bill was, of course, unconstitutional under the current case law, and after much testimony, did not come out of committee. Senator Nutting and several other legislators sponsored another bill, SF88, Woman’s right to reproductive safety and information, which Senator Nutting proclaimed was not pro or anti-abortion, but was simply a bill to provide women with necessary medical information. The bill erected as many barriers to abortion as possible, giving the usual false information about breast cancer, depression, suicide and abortion and forcing ultrasounds, listening to heartbeat, waiting period, etc. SF88 also died in committee after much testimony.

This same type of legislation is brought every session with hours and hours of legislative time spent on bills that are often unconstitutional and always an absolute interference with women’s right to medical privacy and reproductive freedom. Women in Wyoming have almost no access to abortion, and many women must go out of state to receive medical care. It is estimated that there were only 5 abortions performed in Wyoming last year.

Wyoming is one of the first states to pass a Juvenile Life Without Parole law; HB23 deals with the U.S Supreme Court case Miller v. Alabama. This recently decided case stated that juveniles should not be sentenced under mandatory life without parole statutes. Courts must take into consideration all of the circumstances of the crime and the individual juvenile when making sentencing decisions. This bill came out of the joint judiciary committee and was supported by both the attorney general’s and public defender’s office. It allows for the possibility of parole after 25 years. We strongly support this bill and we’re happy to see it pass.

A bill that showed up again this year in the House was HB74 - Sex offenders - residence near child care facilities. This bill would have prohibited individuals on the sex offender registry from living near child care facilities. GPS maps presented to the committee showed that in many communities here in Wyoming these laws are making it impossible for offenders to live anywhere. This affects their ability to rehabilitate within the community and also has extremely negative effects on offenders’ families. The original intent of the sex offender registry was to register repeat violent offenders, but the current registry is so broad that it includes everyone convicted of any crime that is even loosely considered a sex crime. Crimes such as urinating in public or Romeo and Juliet cases can land you on the sex offender registry. The majority of calls our office has received regarding the registry are these cases where an individual was convicted of this type of Romeo and Juliet crime and is now married to the named victim, has been for a number of years, has no other convictions and still must register on the offender registry. The location of child care centers is almost impossible to keep up with as the facilities change on a monthly basis and the Department of Family Services registers only those centers that are licensed facilities. The original rationale for the prohibition of offenders living near schools was that children walked to and from school, but this is not always true of children that go to day care centers. We opposed this bill and were glad to see it voted down in committee.

HB204, Katie’s Law sponsored by Representative Esquibel stated that DNA samples would be taken from every individual arrested, collected by the state and run through national data bases. This bill turns the idea that you are innocent until proven guilty on its head – if the arrestee was not convicted or charges were dropped, the arrestee would have the responsibility of getting the records and DNA destroyed at the state level, and there was no assurance that the info would be taken out of national data bases. The constitutionality of these laws is currently under review by the US Supreme Court and we should have an opinion in the spring. We testified against this bill and it died in committee.

Both the Wiretap authorization bill, SF67 and HB76 the Investigative Subpoena bill broadened law enforcements ability to violate individuals’ privacy. Wiretap authorization would have allowed wiretaps on a new array of crimes outside of drug crimes, and HB76 provided for subpoenas in internet fraud cases and internet fraud was defined very broadly. Neither of these bills made it into law but we expect to see a continued effort by law enforcement and the attorney general’s office to broaden their authority to peer into individuals’ private lives.

Despite 50 years of pleas for change, the legislature and the Governor continue to ignore the need to reform our juvenile justice system. Two small bills for juveniles passed this year: SF17 - Community juvenile services that would allow the county commission to apply for funds reserved for community service board grants, and another, HB175, that asks law enforcement to contact a parent or guardian when a child is issued a citation. Law enforcement was very resistant to this bill and implied in testimony that it was too much to require and they did not have the time to notify parents. Neither the school system or law enforcement must notify parents when a child is being questioned in the school, and our office gets many complaints about this. Most of our children go through adult courts which are also not compelled to notify parents that their children are in court so it seems a small effort to ask that police officer notify parents if a child is in trouble. These are the only two bills that came out of legislature this session for juvenile justice and nether one of them addresses the systemic problems that continue to plague the state. During the interim, the Joint Judiciary Committee is hoping to receive information from the Governor’s newly appointed task force on juvenile justice. At this time it is not clear what the task forces’ appointed task is.

Learn more about the interim topics to be considered by the Wyoming Legislature.

Wyoming was the last state in the nation without a law that addressed human trafficking, and we’re happy to see Representative Connolly’s HB133 - Human trafficking passed this session. Hopefully, this will result in more protection for the victims of these types of crimes. The rationale for the bill was that while there are federal laws against trafficking, some of the smaller cases fall through the cracks, and all states need laws in order to prosecute these cases.

These are just a few of the highlights of the session and we will be releasing a complete look at our work in our legislative report that will be posted to our website in the next few weeks. It was a very successful session for us, and while I am happy for a little rest now that it’s over, it is always a pleasure to work with our Wyoming Legislature.

Linda Burt,
Executive Director

Bible Study Course in Public Schools? This is a bad idea.

America is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world. Our freedom to believe (or not believe) is protected by the Constitution. One of the ways we guard religious freedom is by making sure that public schools – which are part of and representatives of our government – neither advance or inhibit religion.

House Bill 130 – Education-elective academic Bible study is a bill that states that a Wyoming school district may offer an elective course on the Old Testament and the New Testament for students in 9th grade or above. This course would be an academic course that is supposed to teach knowledge of the Bible.

We believe that this bill is another example of the Wyoming legislators pushing for legislation that is a solution looking for a problem. HB130 is completely unnecessary, and is potentially unconstitutional under the Wyoming Constitution. We believe that religious education is best left to parents and their children, not public school officials.

HB130 brings up a whole host of questions and concerns, such as:

• Which translation of the Bible will be used?
• What academic qualifications must teachers obtain before they can become “accredited” instructors of the Bible under this proposal?
• How will school districts ensure teachers’ objectivity and unbiased instruction of the Bible?
• Will it open school districts up for lawsuits?

Unfortunately, HB130 passed out of the Senate Education Committee this morning and will go to the entire Wyoming Senate for debate. If you believe that religious education is best left to parents and houses of worship, not public schools, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO DEFEAT HB130!

Please contact your Senator to let them know you oppose HB130. You may also vocalize your opposition to HB130 at the online voter hotline or by calling the telephone hotline -- 1-866-996-8683 (or 307-777-8683 for local callers within the Cheyenne area). The telephone hotline is staffed only when the Legislature is in session, approximately 8:00-5:00 Monday-Friday.

Remember, individuals have the right to express religious beliefs; public schools do not.

Legislative Update: Week Five

The ACLU of Wyoming keeps you updated on bills that impact civil liberties in Wyoming during the 2013 legislative session. The session is moving fast! We're halfway through the session, and Monday was the last day for bills in the Committee of the Whole in the house of origin. Yesterday the last day for second reading in the house of origin, and today is the last day for third reading in the house of origin.

While we have enjoyed legislative victories already this year – defeating two anti-choice bills and gaining traction on a bill to extend voting rights to non-violent felons – we had two very disappointing loses last week on bills which would have gone a long way in granting equal rights to Wyoming’s LGBT community. SF131 Discrimination proposed to make discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity illegal, and was defeated in the Senate 13 – 17. HB168 Domestic Partnerships failed to pass the House by a vote of 25 – 34. HB168 sought to extend legal rights and responsibilities to domestic partnerships. Despite these losses, these bills had considerable support in each chamber and went further in the legislative process than in years past. We’re encouraged by this trend and will continue to support pro-LGBT proposals in the future.

We love hearing from our supporters, so please share any information or comments you might have about these bills so we can keep our information up-to-date. Learn more about how to participate in the legislative process. If we have missed any bills you think we should be following, please send us an email.

Here’s an update on the bills we’re monitoring this session:

HOUSE BILLS:

HB23 – Juvenile parole eligibility
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; modifying provisions relating to life sentences for juvenile offenders generally; eliminating life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would bring Wyoming into compliance with recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding mandatory life without parole for juveniles.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB47 – Confidential student disciplinary hearing
Sponsored by: GREEAR

Description: AN ACT relating to children; providing that relevant proceedings of a court action involving misconduct of a minor may be disclosed to the minor's school district for purposes of suspension or expulsion of the minor from school as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would allow confidential court records to be released to a number of school officials to add information to school suspensions and expulsions. Violates privacy.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and has been placed on General File in the Senate.

HB74 – Sex offenders-residence near child care facilities
Sponsored by: EKLUND

Description: AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; prohibiting sex offenders from residing near child care facilities; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Current sex offender registry list all sex offenders even those convicted of Romeo/Juliet offenses, urination in public etc. In many towns allow for no areas available for residence. Day care facilities change on a month to month basis and the list of providers is not easily available or comprehensive.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: This bill failed to pass out of committee.

HB76 – Investigative subpoenas
Sponsored by: ZWONITZ,DV

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; providing for the issuance of investigative subpoenas for internet fraud; providing for confidentiality; providing definitions; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill is a better bill that similar ones in previous years as it includes probable cause, but we would like to see some small changes on destruction of documents.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: This bill has passed third reading in the House, and was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB89 – Unemployment compensation – drug testing
Sponsored by: MADDEN

Description: AN ACT relating to unemployment insurance; disqualifying from unemployment benefits persons terminated from employment for illegal use of a controlled substance; requiring controlled substances testing for applicants as specified; providing for suspension of eligibility following a positive test for controlled substances; providing for rules and regulations; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Invasion of privacy; overreaching by state; interference with contract between state and employer/employee. These programs have been found to be unnecessary and expensive, and can effect struggling families and children.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and has been referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB96 – Elections – ballot access and registration
Sponsored by: KROEKER

Description: AN ACT relating to elections; decreasing requirements for minor political party status; extending time for cancellation of registration; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of committee was placed on General File; did not consider in Committee of the Whole.

HB97 – No abortion after heartbeat
Sponsored by: KROEKER

Description: AN ACT relating to public health; providing that no abortion shall be performed after the embryo or fetus has a detectable fetal heartbeat; providing a definition; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would effectively ban almost all abortions in Wyoming; violates Roe v. Wade. Amounts to governmental interference in private medical decisions of women; violates Rove. v. Wade.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed to pass House Labor Committee.

HB102 – Hospitalization of mentally ill persons
Sponsored by: Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to emergency detention and involuntary hospitalization proceedings; providing that proceedings involving minor children be brought under the Child Protection Act, as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: This bill has not yet come out of House Labor Committee.

HB114 – Liberty Preservation Act
Sponsored by: KROEKER

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal law; providing legislative declaration that portions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 are unconstitutional; prohibiting enforcement of federal law as specified; providing penalties; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Undoubtedly an unconstitutional usurpation of federal authority.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed out of committee and was placed on General File; did not consider in Committee of the Whole.

HB129 – Voting rights
Sponsored by: ZWONITZ,DN

Description: AN ACT relating to voting rights; modifying requirements for restoration of voting rights to persons convicted of nonviolent felonies; conforming provisions; repealing conflicting provisions related to restoration of voting rights; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed second reading in the House.

HB130 – Education-elective academic bible study
Sponsored by: WATT

Description: AN ACT relating to public school elective courses; providing for elective classes in biblical studies; requiring training of educators; providing rulemaking authority; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and referred to Senate Education Committee.

HB133 – Human trafficking
Sponsored by: CONNOLLY

Description: AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; defining criminal offenses related to human trafficking as specified; providing penalties; providing for restitution; providing an affirmative defense to prosecution of human trafficking victims as specified; providing for services to victims of human trafficking; providing for forfeiture of property as specified; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB 141 – Political party affiliation
Sponsored by: EKLUND

Description: AN ACT relating to elections; modifying when declaration of party affiliation is required and procedures relating to declaration; modifying when a voter may change party affiliation; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Restricts voting rights

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed to pass House Corporations Committee.

HB153 – Representation of children in compact proceedings
Sponsored by: THRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to the Interstate Compact on Juveniles; providing for appointment of the state public defender or a guardian ad litem to represent juveniles in accordance with the compact; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of the House, and was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB154 – Representation of children in CHINS proceedings
Sponsored by: THRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to public defenders; providing for public defenders to represent children in child in need of supervision proceedings; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of the House, and was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB168 – Domestic partnerships – rights and responsibilities
Sponsored by: CONNOLLY

Description: AN ACT relating to domestic relations; establishing domestic partnerships and related rights and responsibilities; specifying limits on domestic partnerships; requiring certificates; providing for the recognition of foreign domestic partnerships; establishing the presumed legitimacy of children of domestic partnerships; providing for dissolution of domestic partnerships; defining the applicability of other law; prohibiting multiple domestic partnerships; providing penalties; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of the House Corporations Committee, and then failed to pass the Committee of the Whole in the House.

HB169 – Marriage – definitions
Sponsored by: CONNOLLY

Description: AN ACT relating to marriage; defining marriage as a contract between two natural persons; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY SUPPORT

Recent Action: Failed in the House Corporations Committee.

HB175 – Juvenile citations – notification by law enforcement
Sponsored by: THRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to juveniles; requiring notification to parents, guardians or custodians when a juvenile is issued a citation as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of committee, and was referred to Senate Revenue Committee.

HB178 – Sexual assault – disclosure
Sponsored by: KRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; providing for release of the name of the alleged actor in a sexual abuse violation as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This allows for the release of information related to an alleged perpetrator upon arrest and before any conviction.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed Committee of the Whole; indefinitely postponed.

HB187 – Campaign finance
Sponsored by: STUBSON

Description: AN ACT relating to campaign finance reporting; modifying persons required to file campaign receipts reports; removing a requirement that contributors annually renew their consent to automatic contributions; limiting contributions by political action committees; adjusting contribution limits to candidates for statewide political office; requiring amendment of campaign finance reports as specified; providing and modifying criminal penalties; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House.

HB189 – Repeal of Real ID
Sponsored by: KROEKER

Description: AN ACT relating to the federal Real ID Act; amending Wyoming's motor vehicle statutes to remove provisions added in 2009 to comply with the federal Real ID Act; prohibiting the retention of documents as specified; requiring the destruction of specified documents; prohibiting late renewal penalties as specified; prohibiting nonpolitical identification of driver's licenses; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: The ACLU has traditionally opposed the Real ID Act as a government overreach and breach of private information; however, citizens that do not have an ID that complies with the Real ID requirements are not able to fly on US airlines.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Failed to pass House Transportation Committee.

HB190 – Public defender – fee schedule and indigency standard
Sponsored by: WALTERS

Description: AN ACT relating to public defenders; providing for posting of fee schedules online; providing for use of indigency standard in court rules; repealing rulemaking authority for setting indigency standards; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the House, and was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB204 – Katie’s Law
Sponsored by: ESQUIBEL,K

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; providing for collection of DNA from a person arrested for a felony; providing for expungement of information as specified; repealing archaic language; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would allow for DNA collection on arrest for certain crimes and put the burden on those acquitted to request destruction of DNA files.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed in House Judiciary Committee.

HB220 – Involuntary hospitalizations-jury trial
Sponsored by: GINGERY

Description: AN ACT relating to involuntary hospitalization; repealing provision for jury trial; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: This bill failed in committee.

HB223 – Public records-institutions of higher education
Sponsored by: BROWN

Description: AN ACT relating to public records; authorizing denial of inspection of records of applications for president of institutions of higher education and associated records as specified; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: This bill has passed both the House and the Senate.

HJ04 – Foreign law prohibition
Sponsored by: GAY

Description: A JOINT RESOLUTION proposing to amend the Wyoming Constitution to require courts in this state to rely on federal and state laws when deciding cases and to forbid courts from considering international law when deciding cases.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed on the floor of the House.

SENATE FILES:

SF14 – Correctional industries
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to penal institutions; expanding correctional industries program; clarifying provisions; amending procurement requirements relating to correctional industries program; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Judiciary Committee.

SF15 – Inmate transfers
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to penal institutions; amending notification requirements for prisoners sentenced to custody of department of corrections; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Judiciary Committee.

SF17 – Community juvenile services
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to community juvenile services; authorizing counties to be direct grant recipients of community juvenile services grants; modifying grant eligibility and requirements; conforming provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill does nothing more than support the current ineffective patch-work juvenile justice non-system.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Judiciary Committee.

SF50 – Strip searches
Sponsored by: CASE

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; limiting strip searches as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: This bill failed to pass committee.

SF65 – Enticement of a minor
Sponsored by: HICKS

Description: AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; defining the offense of enticement of a minor; providing criminal penalties; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill is broad and vague; most likely unconstitutional as it fails to clearly state what the crime consists of.

ACLU Position: OPPPOSE

Recent Action: This bill died in committee for lack of a second

SF67 – Wiretap authorization
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; modifying authorization for communication interception, pen registers and traps and trace devices; clarifying conditions and procedure for communication interception; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would extend law enforcement’s authority to wiretap citizen’s phones. This authorization can cover all types of electronic communication including emails, computer files, chat room conversations, etc.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Judiciary Committee.

SF72 – Medicaid benefit recovery
Sponsored by: Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee

Description: AN ACT relating to Medicaid benefit recovery; amending provisions for recovery of Medicaid expenses from parents; authorizing the departments of health and family services to cooperate in collecting child support and recoupment of Medicaid expenses as specified; granting rulemaking authority; requiring reports; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT but would like to see some amendments

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, referred to House Labor Committee.

SF88 – Women’s right to reproductive safety and information
Sponsored by: NUTTING

Description: AN ACT relating to public health and safety; requiring physicians to obtain a signed acknowledgment as specified when obtaining a pregnant woman's consent to an abortion; requiring the disclosure of information; requiring the retention of records; providing exceptions; providing definitions; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would effectively ban almost all abortions in Wyoming; violates Roe v. Wade. Amounts to governmental interference in private medical decisions of women; violates Rove. v. Wade.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed to pass Senate Judiciary Committee.

SF108 – Primary elections
Sponsored by: ROTHFUSS

Description: AN ACT relating to elections; providing for primary elections allowing any voter to vote for any candidate running; eliminating election of precinct committeemen and committeewomen; providing for the candidates with the two highest votes in the primary to advance to the general election; providing for filling of vacancies in nomination; providing conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Failed to pass Senate Corporations Committee.

SF115 – Protective services investigation amendments
Sponsored by: NUTTING

Description: AN ACT relating to child and adult protective services; amending requirements for investigations; amending definitions; establishing a standard of proof; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill establishes narrower requirements for child abuse assessments and investigation.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Judiciary Committee.

SF131 – Discrimination
Sponsored by: ROTHFUSS

Description: AN ACT relating to discrimination; prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee, and failed Committee of the Whole in the Senate; postponed indefinitely.

SF134 – Voter identification
Sponsored by: DRISKILL

Description: AN ACT relating to elections; providing for display of proof of identification at polling places; providing exceptions; providing for challenge of voters; providing for waiver of fees for state issued identification cards; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Voter ID laws are alleged to correct a problem that is virtually non-existent, voter fraud. In Wyoming there have only been two cases of attempted voter fraud in the past sixteen years, and both culprits were apprehended and tried. The Department of Justice conducted a nationwide study and discovered that between 2002 and 2007, out of 300 million votes cast, there were only eighty-six cases of voter fraud. This bill burdens voters unnecessarily, and disproportionally effects low-income earners and people of color.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed to pass Senate Corporations Committee.

SF138 – Commutation of sentences
Sponsored by: BURNS

Description: AN ACT relating to sentencing; repealing provisions for life sentences without parole not subject to commutation; specifying retroactive application of the act; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

Recent Action: Failed to pass Senate Judiciary Committee.

SF146 – Termination of parental rights
Sponsored by: ESQUIBEL,F

Description: AN ACT relating to children; expanding grounds for termination of parental rights; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate.

SF154 – Legislative apportionment-county participation
Sponsored by: MEIER

Description: AN ACT relating to legislative apportionment; providing for a task force comprised of legislators and county representatives; specifying appointment and duties; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

Recent Action: Failed to pass the Senate Corporations Committee.

SF162 – Authorized taking of an eagle
Sponsored by: CRAFT

Description: AN ACT relating to the taking of wildlife; providing an exception to the prohibition against taking eagles; granting rulemaking authority; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

Recent Action: Passed third reading in the Senate, and was referred to House Travel Committee.

Help Us Defeat (Another) Anti-Choice Bill in Wyoming

ACTION NEEDED: We need your help to defeat Senate File 88, the so-called "Woman'sright to reproductive safety and information.” This bill would impose a 24-hour waiting period on women who are seeking abortion services, impose an ultrasound requirement, and require women to be given government-specified information regarding abortion (including medically inaccurate information such as abortion causing an increased risk of breast cancer). It would ban nearly every abortion in Wyoming, no matter what a woman's circumstances.

SF88 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The committee hearing will be tomorrow , Friday, February 1, at 8:00 am in Room 302.  Please e-mail the Senate Judiciary Committee members and ask them to VOTE "NO" on Senate File 88, "Woman's right to reproductive safety and information."

Senator John Schiffer, Chairman - John.Schiffer@wyoleg.gov
Senator Bruce Burns - Bruce.Burns@wyoleg.gov
Senator Leland Christensen - Leland.Christensen@wyoleg.gov
Senator Floyd Esquibel - Floyd.Esquibel@wyoleg.gov
Senator Larry Hicks - Larry.Hicks@wyoleg.gov

You may also vocalize your opposition to House Bill 97 at the online voter hotline, or by calling the telephone hotline -- 1-866-996-8683 (or 307-777-8683 for local callers within the Cheyenne area).  The telephone hotline is staffed only when the Legislature is in session, approximately 8:00-5:00 Monday-Friday.

We need to defeat this bill in committee so that it does not move on to the full Senate.  Thank you for helping us oppose this dangerous and mean-spirited attempt to limit women's access to safe, legal abortion services in Wyoming.

Help Us Defeat Anti-Choice Bill in Wyoming

ACTION NEEDED: We need your help to defeat House Bill 97- No abortion after heartbeat.  HB97 is an extreme measure that would ban nearly every abortion in Wyoming, no matter what a woman's circumstances -- and before most women even know they are pregnant!

HB97 has been assigned to the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.  The committee hearing will be tomorrow, Monday, January 28.  Please e-mail the House Labor, Health Committee members and ask them to VOTE "NO" on House Bill 97, "No abortion after heartbeat."

Representative Elaine Harvey, Chairman - Elaine.Harvey@wyoleg.gov
Representative Eric Barlow - Eric.Barlow@wyoleg.gov
Representative Kathy Coleman - kathy.coleman@wyoleg.gov
Representative Lee Filer - Lee.Filer@wyoleg.gov
Representative Matt Greene - matt.greene@wyoleg.gov
Representative Norine Kasperik - norine.kasperik@wyoleg.gov
Representative Lloyd Larsen - Lloyd.Larsen@wyoleg.gov
Representative Mary Throne - Mary.Throne@wyoleg.gov
Representative Sue Wilson - Susan.Wilson@wyoleg.gov

 

You may also vocalize your opposition to House Bill 97 at the online voter hotline or by calling the telephone hotline -- 1-866-996-8683 (or 307-777-8683 for local callers within the Cheyenne area).  The telephone hotline is staffed only when the Legislature is in session, approximately 8:00-5:00 Monday-Friday.

We need to defeat this bill in committee so that it does not move on to the full House!  Thank you for helping us oppose this extreme abortion ban.

Do you support LGBT rights? We need your help!

ACTION NEEDED: We believe in a society that values fairness and equality, that’s why we are supporting two pro-LGBT bills being debated at the Wyoming Legislature, HB168 –Domestic partnerships-rights and responsibilities and HB169 - Marriage-definitions. But we need your help!   

These two bills have been assigned to the House Corporations Committee and will be heard at noon on Monday, January 28. Legislators need to hear from you! Please email the House Corporations Committee members and inform them that you support LGBT rights, and ask them to VOTE “YES” on HB168 and HB169.  

Representative Rosie Berger, Chairwoman - rosie.berger@wyoleg.gov

Representative Gregg Blikre - Gregg.Blikre@wyoleg.gov

Representative James Byrd - james.byrd@wyoleg.gov

Representative Gerald Gay - gerald.gay@wyoleg.gov

Representative Matthias Greene - matt.greene@wyoleg.gov 

Representative Dan Kirkbride - Dan.Kirkbride@wyoleg.gov

Representative Jerry Paxton - Jerry.Paxton@wyoleg.gov

Representative Ruth Petroff - Ruth.Petroff@wyoleg.gov 

Representative Dan Zwonitzer - dan.zwonitzer@wyoleg.gov 

You may also vocalize your support of these bills at the online voter hotline or by calling the telephone hotline -- 1-866-996-8683 (or 307-777-8683 for local callers within the Cheyenne area).  The telephone hotline is staffed only when the Legislature is in session, approximately 8:00-5:00 Monday-Friday.

The true measure of us as a state is how we treat each other. Every individual should have the opportunity to make a legal commitment to the person he or she loves. Thank you for helping us fight for equal rights in the Equality State!   

Roe v. Wade: 40th Anniversary

Forty years ago today, the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that recognized that a pregnant woman has a right to make her own decision about whether to have a child or have an abortion. Since then, some politicians have been trying to take that decision out of a woman’s hands. Over the past two years, these efforts have reached record levels. In those two short years, our elected representatives found the time to pass almost 140 provisions designed to interfere with a woman and her family’s private decisions about whether or not to have children.

Of course, we don’t all feel the same way about abortion. But we should be able to agree that important decisions like these are better made by a woman, her family, and her doctor than by politicians.

Indeed, the American people have shown they don't want politicians to interfere in personal, private decision-making. This year, across the country, people came together to speak out against reproductive restrictions and those who pushed them. In states like Virginia, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Idaho, women and men took time out of their busy lives to go to their state capitols and tell their representatives to leave these decisions where they belong: with a woman, her family, and her doctor.

And these folks aren’t just talking, they are voting. Recently, voters in states as diverse as Mississippi and Colorado, Florida, and North Dakota all rejected ballot measures that would have interfered with a woman’s ability to make her own decisions about pregnancy. Politicians with extreme views on the right to choose whether to have an abortion lost at the polls. In fact, Americans are so fed up with politicians trying to interfere with a woman’s private health care decision, that a Gallup poll found that 39 percent of women in 12 battleground states said abortion was the most important issue for women in the election.

Incredibly, however, some politicians still haven’t gotten the message. For example, over the last two years, some politicians in the U.S. House of Representatives tried to change the definition of rape; several states passed laws mandating that a woman undergo an ultrasound and be forced to see an image before she can have an abortion; and politicians tried to give employers the right to deny a woman insurance coverage for birth control.

Even some Wyoming legislators are still determined to take away a woman’s ability to make her own decisions about birth control, pregnancy, and abortion. Two legislative measures being debated in the Wyoming legislature would effectively ban almost all abortion services in Wyoming. Both HB97 and SF88 violate provisions upheld in Roe v. Wade, and amount to nothing more than governmental interference into private medical decisions of Wyoming women and their families. 

These attacks at the state and federal level notwithstanding, we must keep in mind two important lessons that we learned this year. First, however each of us personally feels about abortion, Americans have had enough of politicians trying to take that decision away from women and their families. Second, if we continue to speak out, we can stem this tide. We can stop politicians from interfering in a woman’s private health care decisions. So this year, when legislators in Cheyenne try to push restrictions on reproductive health care for Wyoming women, we must stand together and them realize just how out-of-touch and out-of-date they are.

Legislative Update: Week Two

Week two of the Wyoming Legislative Session ended with a beautiful sunny day in Cheyenne. There was lots of interesting floor debate this week on SF104; a bill to change direction in the Department of Education and even though it isn’t a bill we’re following, it was great to listen to such lively debate.

We spent most of our time last week with the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Keith Gingery (R–Jackson). Mr. Gingery runs an efficient meeting, and gets through bills quickly while still allowing for ample testimony and debate. HB23 – Juvenile parole eligibility, a bill that would do away with mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles, passed out of committee and third reading in the House. We strongly support this bill and hope it moves easily through the Senate.

HB74 – Sex offenders – residence near child care facilities failed in committee as it was a very flawed bill that would be virtually impossible to enforce. It would’ve left some Wyoming communities with virtually no residential areas for sex offenders to live, and done little more than provide a false sense of security for our children.

We supported HB133 – Human trafficking, which passed out of committee and would provide state penalties for the crime of human trafficking. Wyoming is currently the only state that has no protection in this area for trafficking victims.

The House Judiciary Committee also heard two great bills, HB153 and HB154, which would allow for representation of children in compact (out-of-state) and CHINS (child in need of supervision) proceedings. Rep. Mary Throne (D – Cheyenne) is the chief sponsor of each of these bills, and we strongly support each measure. They will now move onto General File in the House of Representatives.

SF17 – Community juvenile services passed 3^rd reading in the Senate, and will now move over to the House. We do not support this bill because unfortunately, it does little to repair the fundamentally flawed juvenile justice system in Wyoming. SF17 is more of the same smoke-and-mirrors that the legislature has been using to dodge addressing our broken juvenile justice for the past 50 years.

As always, we love to hear from our supporters, so please contact us if you have questions or suggestions about our legislative work.

In addition to the bills listed in our previous post, here are further bills that we will be tracking throughout the session:

HOUSE BILLS

HB175 – Juvenile citations – notification by law enforcement

Sponsored by: THRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to juveniles; requiring notification to parents, guardians or custodians when a juvenile is issued a citation as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

HB178 – Sexual assault – disclosure

Sponsored by: KRONE

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; providing for release of the name of the alleged actor in a sexual abuse violation as specified; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This allows for the release of information related to an alleged perpetrator upon arrest and before any conviction.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

HB187 – Campaign finance

Sponsored by: STUBSON

Description: AN ACT relating to campaign finance reporting; modifying persons required to file campaign receipts reports; removing a requirement that contributors annually renew their consent to automatic contributions; limiting contributions by political action committees; adjusting contribution limits to candidates for statewide political office; requiring amendment of campaign finance reports as specified; providing and modifying criminal penalties; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

HB189 – Repeal of Real ID

Sponsored by: KROEKER

Description: AN ACT relating to the federal Real ID Act; amending Wyoming's motor vehicle statutes to remove provisions added in 2009 to comply with the federal Real ID Act; prohibiting the retention of documents as specified; requiring the destruction of specified documents; prohibiting late renewal penalties as specified; prohibiting nonpolitical identification of driver's licenses; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: The ACLU has traditionally opposed the Real ID Act as a government overreach and breach of private information; however, citizens that do not have an ID that complies with the Real ID requirements are not able to fly on US airlines.

ACLU Position: MONITORING

HB190 – Public defender – fee schedule and indigency standard

Sponsored by: WALTERS

Description: AN ACT relating to public defenders; providing for posting of fee schedules online; providing for use of indigency standard in court rules; repealing rulemaking authority for setting indigency standards; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

HB204 – Katie’s Law

Sponsored by: ESQUIBEL,K

Description: AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; providing for collection of DNA from a person arrested for a felony; providing for expungement of information as specified; repealing archaic language; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill would allow for DNA collection on arrest for certain crimes and put the burden on those acquitted to request destruction of DNA files.

ACLU Position: OPPOSE

SENATE FILES

SF115 – Protective services investigation amendments

Sponsored by: NUTTING

Description: AN ACT relating to child and adult protective services; amending requirements for investigations; amending definitions; establishing a standard of proof; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: This bill establishes narrower requirements for child abuse assessments and investigation.

ACLU Position: SUPPORT

SF131 – Discrimination

Sponsored by: ROTHFUSS

Description: AN ACT relating to discrimination; prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as specified; and providing for an effective date.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY SUPPORT

SF134 – Voter identification

Sponsored by: DRISKILL

Description: AN ACT relating to elections; providing for display of proof of identification at polling places; providing exceptions; providing for challenge of voters; providing for waiver of fees for state issued identification cards; and providing for an effective date.

Comment: Voter ID laws are alleged to correct a problem that is virtually non-existent, voter fraud. In Wyoming there have only been two cases of attempted voter fraud in the past sixteen years, and both culprits were apprehended and tried. The Department of Justice conducted a nationwide study and discovered that between 2002 and 2007, out of 300 million votes cast, there were only eighty-six cases of voter fraud. This bill burdens voters unnecessarily, and disproportionally effects low-income earners and people of color.

ACLU Position: STRONGLY OPPOSE