February 23, 2005

The Honorable Randall Luthi Speaker of the House Wyoming State Legislature State Capitol

Cheyenne, WY 82002

RE: House Bill 0291- House Enrolled Act 60

Dear Speaker Luthi:

I have, today, reluctantly vetoed House Enrolled Act 60 (original House Bill 0291). While I continue in my affection for the legislative body, I cannot accept the damage this legislation does to the long-term operation of government.

House Enrolled Act 60 (original HB0291) is at best a solution in search of a problem. The House Enrolled Act modifies the current structure for appointment and removal of the director of the Office of State Lands and the State Forester.

Under current law, the director of the Office of State Lands and Investments is appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, may be removed by the governor, and the director's term expires at the end of the governor's term.

Under the new language, the director is appointed by the State Loan and Investment Board, which means at least three of the five members must vote for the appointment. The director can be removed by the governor or the board. However, the board's firing of the director requires the affirmative vote of four members of the board. We are asking a potential director to work in the context of being appointed by three of five people and subject to removal by the governor or the affirmative vote of four out of five people. Would any one of you actually volunteer for such an arrangement?

The second change wrought by HEA 60 is to reverse a decision made by the prior legislature to have the State Forester appointed by the State Land and Investment Board. Under this Act, the State Forester is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of a director, appointed by three people, subject to removal by the governor or the vote of four of five people and the t ends when the governor's term ends.

The Honorable Randall Luthi February 23, 2005

Page 2

The genesis of this legislation is more personalities than substance, hardly a basis for structural changes in the government. The proponents of the legislation are not suggesting the current director or administration of the office is flawed. Quite the contrary, the effective date of this legislation, January l, 2007, is specifically designed to maintain the status quo. Apparently, the evil sought to be remedied by the legislation does not demand our attention for at least two years.

Corporate board analogies are misplaced in the context of this Act and the Board of Land Commissioners. Corporate analogies to government structure are tortured at best. An appropriate formulation would be to view the citizens as shareholders and the legislature as the board of directors for Wyoming.

The Board of Land Commissioners is a committee of limited jurisdiction created by the corporate charter, the Wyoming Constitution, ". . . which under direction of the legislature as limited by the constitution shall have direction, control, leasing and disposal of lands. . . " (Wyo. Const. Art. 18, § 3). The statutes designate the Governor as President of the Board. (Wyo. Star. § 36-2-103).

The same charter, which creates the Board vests the executive powers of the government in the Governor by Constitution, (Wyo. Const. Art. 4, §§ 1 and 4) while the other officers are created by Article 4, Section 11 to have the powers and duties prescribed by the legislature. (Wyo. Const. Art. 4, § 11).

Proponents of this legislation have alluded to actions of the preceding administration as the basis and need for the change. Since I was not present during the prior administration, I can not speak to the weight of the burdens imposed thereby. It would have been easier to develop a remedy tailored to the particular problem had it been discussed at the time. This seems painfully logical, given that the then governor and the majority of the legislature were members of the same party.

Proponents of the legislation also talk about problems that could or might occur in the future. To my way of thinking, the conservative principles which typically dominate Wyoming state government do not support legislative activism or lawmaking geared toward addressing past or potential future problems. Good government should address only those issues which are real, defined and presently impact the government's ability to positively affect its citizenry.

The legislation seems to confuse the administration of government with the decision and policy function of the Board. While the Board may not currently appoint the director, the decision and policy function of the board is clearly protected. As the law existed prior to passing HEA 60, any board member could direct the director to place an item (presumably including a vote of confidence on the director's performance) on a board meeting agenda for the board's

The Honorable Randall Luthi February 23, 2005

Page 3

consideration and vote. (Board of Land Commissioners Rules and Regulations, Chp. 1, Section 5(b)). Moreover, a majority of the board has express statutory authority to override any decision by the director. (Wyo. Stat. § 36-3-102(c)).

DF:bjw

c: The Honorable Grant Larson The Honorable Joseph B. Meyer Legislative Service Office