THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.

HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW

ORDER OF BUSINESS - TYPICAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

COPIES OF BILLS AND AMENDMENTS

BILL STATUS

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

CONTACTING LEGISLATORS

1. Parking. Parking space near the Capitol is quite limited during legislative sessions. There is no public parking lot within close walking distance. The parking lot to the West of the Capitol and the underground parking lot at the Herschler building are reserved for legislators, legislative staff and state employees. Limited parking spaces are available on side streets around the Capitol but note that many of these spaces are metered or are restricted to time limited parking.

2. Capitol Building Hours. During the Legislative session, the Capitol building is open each morning at 7:00 a.m. and remains open at all times the legislature is in session and while committees are meeting.

3. Information. The first stop for general information is the information desk located in the Capitol rotunda. Information relating to bill status is available at the computer information terminal located in the basement of the Capitol.

4. Rest rooms. Public rest rooms are located in the basement of the Capitol. There are also public rest rooms located in the vicinity of the third floor public seating gallery in the House of Representatives.

5. Telephones. Public pay telephones are located in the basement of the Capitol.

6. Cafeteria/Refreshments. Vending machines are located in the basement of the Capitol. There is no public cafeteria in the Capitol building. The House and Senate coffee rooms are not open to the general public. The nearest public cafeteria is located in the basement of the Herschler building immediately north of the Capitol (accessible via the "tunnel" on the north side of the basement in the Capitol.)

1. Parking Spaces. Handicapped parking spaces are available along 24th street directly in front (south) of the Capitol.

2. Access to Capitol Building.  A wheel chair accessible ramp and door is located on the north side of the Capitol Building.  Vehicle access to this location is from the West side of the Capitol Building off of Carey Avenue.

3. Elevators. There are two elevators accessible from the basement or at the east and west ends of the rotunda area on the main floors. Use the West elevator to access the third floor public seating area for the Senate. Use the East elevator to access the third floor public seating area for the House of Representatives.

4. Seating. Both the House and Senate Chambers have been remodeled to provide wheelchair accessible seating spaces in the public seating areas on the third floor.

5. Rest rooms. The public rest rooms in the basement of the Capitol are wheelchair accessible.

6. Accommodations for Individuals with Hearing Impairments. Individuals desiring the use of an interpreter should contact the Legislative Service Office or the Staff Supervisor in the House or Senate for assistance. While a reasonably prompt response can be expected, individuals requiring the services of an interpreter should make this request known as far in advance as possible since legislative proceedings will not be delayed to provide this accommodation.

7. Telephone Services. Individuals with hearing impairments are encouraged to phone the Wyoming Relay Service (Ph. 1-800-877-9965 for TDD or Text Telephones) for assistance in reaching the Voter Hotline or other telephone services described in this publication.

8. Accommodations for Individuals with Vision Impairments. If a person with a visual impairment requests accommodation regarding bill drafts or other legislative information or publication through audio means, the LSO will arrange to make the material requested available on audio tape and will charge no more than charges levied for the same printed materials.

The legislative Web site on the Internet provides Wyoming citizens with electronic access to legislative information. The address is http://legisweb.state.wy.us. It can also be reached through the state's home page on the Web, http://www.state.wy.us. A library in your community may have the needed equipment and support for public access to the legislative Web site for individuals who do not have a personal computer. Please contact your local county library, nearest branch library, community college library or the University of Wyoming library about the current availability of public accessible computers.

Wyoming state government's public information menu on its Web site includes a wide variety of data maintained by executive agencies as well as information relating to the judicial and legislative branches of state government through their respective Web sites.

Legislative information available on the Web site includes:

A Citizen Legislature. Wyoming remains one of the few states having a true part-time citizen legislature. While this may keep Wyoming legislators in closer touch with their constituents, it also means that they do not enjoy the same accommodations provided to full-time legislators in larger states. For example, legislators in Wyoming do not have individual staff. As noted below, staff services for Wyoming legislators are provided by a small permanent central staff agency (the LSO) and by temporary session staff. Office accommodations are similarly austere. Except for a few officers of the House and Senate, members of the legislature are not provided offices in the Capitol nor do they maintain full-time offices in their districts. While in session, the "office" of a typical Wyoming legislator consists of the legislator's desk on the floor of the House or Senate and one or two file cabinet drawers in a committee meeting room. Except for the relatively short periods of time they meet each year in Cheyenne for the annual legislative session, Wyoming legislators can be contacted at home or at their places of business.

1. House of Representatives. Located in the East Wing of the Capitol, the House of Representatives is made up of 60 members elected from single member districts for two year terms. The principal officers of the House include:

2. Senate. Located in the West Wing of the Capitol, the Senate is made up of 30 members elected from single member districts for four year terms. The principal officers of the Senate include:

The Legislature meets in general session in odd numbered years, beginning on the second Tuesday of January. The general session is limited to 40 legislative days, but generally lasts around 38 days.

The Legislature meets in budget session in even numbered years, beginning on the second Monday of February. A typical budget session lasts 20 legislative days. Except for the budget bill, any other bill requires a 2/3rds vote of the House or Senate for introduction in a budget session.

Special sessions of the Legislature may be called at any time by the governor.

1. Committee Structure. There are twelve permanent parallel committees in the House and Senate. Much of the work of the Legislature is carried on by these "standing committees" which generally contain 9 members in the House and 5 members in the Senate. Most members serve on several committees.

Standing committees meet before and after the daily general session of the House and Senate, and sometimes during the noon recess, to review bills, hear testimony from interested citizens and recommend action back to the full body of the House or Senate.

Additional information on committee operations is provided in other sections of this booklet.

2. Directory. Qwest and the Wyoming Trucking Association jointly publish an annual legislative directory which includes a photo and a brief biographical sketch of each legislator.  The directory also includes telephone numbers for all House and Senate offices and committee rooms, make up of all House and Senate standing committees, and the position and title of each member of the session staff.  Copies of the directory are available free of charge at the information desk in the Capitol rotunda.

1. Legislative Service Office (LSO). The LSO is the full time, nonpartisan central staff agency of the Wyoming Legislature. Services provided by the LSO include: research; bill and amendment drafting; revision and recompilation of the statutes; Legislative budget and accounting; and personal staff services for Legislators. Members of the office staff also prepare administrative rule reviews; conduct performance evaluations of executive agency programs, conduct fiscal studies and budget analysis and maintain the legislative Web site. The LSO also employs several part-time staff during the session.

2. Session Staff. The House and Senate employ temporary staff (including chief clerks, staff supervisors, committee secretaries, etc.,) to assist during each legislative session. Session staff are responsible for many of the day to day operations of the legislature and work under the general direction and control of the chief clerk and staff supervisor in the House and Senate. During the session, standing committees and many Legislators also use student interns and legislative aides to assist with research, filing, correspondence, etc.

Operating from their work stations at the front desk of the Chamber, the chief clerk, assistant chief clerk, reading clerk and computer terminal team coordinate the flow of work on the floor of the House and Senate.

1. Committee Bills. When the legislature is not in session, the respective standing committees of the House and Senate combine to function as "joint interim" committees which are assigned to study major problems facing the state. Many of the bills introduced in the legislative session result from the work of joint interim committees. Special and select committees of legislators may also be established to perform interim work, including studies and the drafting of bills. Information on all interim committee activities including minutes of committee meetings may be obtained by contacting the Legislative Service Office. Computer access to committee information is available to individuals outside the Capitol via the legislative Web site. For more information on the legislative Web site see Section I C. of this booklet.

2. Drafting By LSO. All bills proposed by interim committees as well as all bills sponsored by individual legislators are drafted by the staff of the Legislative Service Office.

The Flow Chart appearing at the back of this booklet provides a "thumbnail" sketch of the step by step process a House bill or Senate file follows from initial introduction to final enactment.

A more detailed description of each step in the legislative process is provided in the publication, "Extract from The Wyoming Manual of Legislative Procedures" available free of charge at the information desk in the Capitol rotunda.

The rather complicated process a bill follows in becoming law can be summarized as consisting of four principal stages: Committee action; Floor action; Conference committee action; and Action by the Governor.

1. Committee Action. Following introduction and first reading, a bill is assigned to a standing committee of the House or Senate for discussion and consideration. The committee may hold public hearings on the bill (see information below on how to obtain notice of scheduled committee hearings.) The committee then reports back its favorable or unfavorable recommendation on the bill to the full House or Senate and the bill is placed on "General File" awaiting floor action.

2. Floor Action. A bill receiving a favorable report by a standing committee is then ready for "floor action" by the entire body of the House or Senate. This means the bill will be subject to debate and amendment on the floor of the House or Senate by all the members during Committee of the Whole, and then again on 2nd and 3rd readings. A final vote on the bill is taken following third reading.

3. Conference Committee Action. To become law, a bill must be passed in identical form by both houses of the Legislature. Upon passage by the first house, the bill is sent to the second house where it is again subject to committee and floor action and possible amendment in the second house as described above. If the bill passes the second house without amendment, it is immediately sent on to the Governor for approval or veto. If the bill is amended by the second house, however, additional steps are necessary to complete Legislative action on the bill.

Since a bill must be passed in identical form by both houses of the Legislature, a bill amended in the second house must be returned to the first house to determine if the house of origin will agree or "concur" in the amendments of the second house. If the first house concurs, action on the bill is finished and it is enrolled and sent on to the Governor.

If the house of origin does not concur in the amendments of the second house, the bill is assigned to a conference committee to attempt to work out the differences. If both houses subsequently approve the report of the joint conference committee, the bill is deemed enacted and is then sent on to the Governor.

4. Action by the Governor. Before any bill passed by the Legislature becomes law it must be presented to the Governor. If he approves the bill, he signs it. If he disapproves (vetoes) the bill, he returns it to the house of origin with his objections.

The House and Senate may override the Governor's veto by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each body.

If any bill sent to the Governor during the session is not signed by him and is not returned within three days (Sundays excepted) it becomes law without his signature. If the Legislature adjourns before the three days have passed, the bill becomes law unless the Governor, within fifteen days after the Legislature adjourns, files his objections to the bill with the Secretary of State.

1. The House and Senate generally follow the same schedule or "order of business" each regular legislative day (note this schedule may change near the end of the session as the Legislature winds down its work):

On a typical legislative day during the course of the session it is common for the legislature to recess for lunch between third reading (agenda item k) and committee of the whole (agenda item l.)

2. Standing committees meet in the mornings before the House and Senate convene, in the late afternoons or evenings following adjournment and sometimes during the noon recess. A schedule of committee meetings for each day is available by 3:00 p.m. on the preceding business day.

3. In planning your visit to the Legislature, consult the House and Senate calendars in advance to determine when bills of interest have been scheduled for debate.