CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ A bill is being proposed that would discontinue allowing four Wyoming statewide elected officials to hire their own legal counsel.
The bill proposed by state Rep. Pete Illoway, of Cheyenne, would require the secretary of state, public instruction superintendent, treasurer and auditor to get their legal counsel through the state attorney general's office.
The current arrangement was set up because the governor appoints the attorney general, and sometimes the governor and other elected officials don't agree on policy.
Illoway says his motive centers on how Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill has used her attorney. He believes the attorney has taken on too many duties that Hill should be doing.
Hill says she needs her own attorney because of the complicated legal issues that come up daily in her agency.
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ An incumbent Wyoming state senator could keep his seat under an amendment to a state legislative redistricting plan.
The House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee on Tuesday approved an amendment proposed by Republican Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange.
The change would extend House District 10 north more than 40 miles to take in a slice of land along the state's eastern border, including the state's medium-security prison east of Torrington.
House District 10 is one of two House districts that comprise Meier's Senate district.
Meier would have lost his Senate seat under a version of the redistricting bill approved by a joint House-Senate committee in January because his residence would no longer have been within his district.
The redistricting bill still needs full House and Senate approval.
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ Wyoming lawmakers are set to consider changing the state's wolf management law to accommodate an agreement that Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar reached last year on ending federal protections for the animals in the state.
Steve Ferrell, wildlife policy adviser to the governor, briefed members of the Legislature's Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on the agreement Tuesday in Cheyenne.
Under the agreement, Wyoming would maintain 15 breeding pairs and at least 150 animals in the state. Wolves would be protected in a flexible zone around Yellowstone but classified as unprotected predators in the rest of the state.
Sen. Bruce Burns, a Republican from Sheridan, is committee co-chairman. He says he expects the Legislature will ratify the agreement this session.
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) _ A public school finance bill has failed to get enough votes to win introduction in the state House of Representatives.
House Bill 47 failed introduction Monday on a 30-30 vote.
The bill proposes to change how the state allocates money to school districts.
Republican Rep. Keith Gingery, of Jackson, said the Teton Count School District would have lost $3.8 million if the bill passed. Campbell County could lose $1 million.
He says the bill would not have saved the state any money but would spread out the same amount of money to other school districts.
The bill also proposes lowering average class sizes for kindergarten through third grade and reducing the amount allocated per student for technology.
