Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND — There are several bills that the Washakie County Conservation District will be following when the 2022 Wyoming Legislature convenes its budget session in February.
During a meeting with legislators and county officials earlier this month, the WCCD Board discussed four bills of interest.
House Bill 005, a Joint Agricultural Committee bill, would “require notice to federal land management agencies of the costs of wild horse grazing on state lands; authorize enforcement by writ of mandamus for removal of wild horses from nonfederal lands; providing for state management of wild horses and burros with tribes, federal land management agencies, other states and private entities.
The bill appropriates $2 million to the Office of the Governor for state endeavors to manage wild horses in the state.
The bill defines a wild horse as an unbranded and unclaimed horse on public land.
One board member said that the horses for which the bill is written should be called feral not wild.
Rep. John Winter (R-Thermopolis), a member of the committee, said while the bill would allow for state management of wild horses outside the Bureau of Land Management wild horse herd management areas, there is no place for the state to take the horses with no horse slaughter houses in the country.
A second bill relates to the Weed and Pest Management Council, Senate File 008. The bill would “provide that the Department of Agriculture shall administer weed and pest control functions on state lands” thus “transferring related functions and funding from the Office of State Lands and Investments.”
House Bill 006 relates to using American Rescue Plan Act funds for water projects.
According to the fiscal note from the Wyoming Legislative Service Office on the project, “This bill contains an appropriation of $95,000,000 to the Water Development Commission from any unexpended, unobligated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that were appropriated in 2021 Wyoming Session Laws.
“This appropriation will be expended as grants to entities eligible for funding pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for water and wastewater projects. This bill creates the Wyoming Statewide American Rescue Plan Act Water Infrastructure Program.
“The Wyoming Water Development Office (WWDO) shall establish and administer this temporary program for the purpose of providing grants to entities for eligible projects.”
The group discussed that restoration projects for irrigation districts in the Big Horn Basin could definitely use the funding that will be allocated through a grant program.
Rep. Mike Greear (R-Worland) said the Level II projects have been severely underfunded and this funding will help.
House Bill 2 would “require written documentation from the state engineer or state board of control on the disposition of water rights when subdividing land.”
Greear (R-Worland) told those at the WCCD meeting that “it’s going to be tough to get through anything but the budget, ARPA funding and redistricting.”
Non budgetary bills will require two-third vote for introduction during the budget session.
Twenty-one committee bills have been prefiled at this time, but Greear said he expects hundreds of bills to be filed before the session starts on Feb. 14.
In the 2020 budget session there were 388 other bills besides the budget filed, plus 10 resolutions. In the 2018 budget session there were 314 bills filed and 15 resolutions.