School Bus Safety Bill Passes Out of Committee Without Funding [AUDIO]

School Bus Safety

The Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that would require school buses to have cameras to catch motorists who illegally pass buses stopped to pick up and drop off students. However, the committee voted to strip the bill of its $5 million appropriation to help school districts pay for the cameras. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration there.

Pension Plan Contributions

The Senate advanced a bill that would increase employee and employer contribution in certain plans under the Wyoming Retirement Act. Lawmakers say it is necessary to keep the plans healthy. Representative Steve Harshman (HD-37), co-chairman of the Joint Appropriations committee, said the contribution is .75 for an employee and .75 for an employer.

Capitol Renovation Bill Clears House

The House passed a bill on third and final reading that would allow the state to move ahead with the Capitol Renovation project. The House amended the bill so it must go back to the Senate for approval of the changes. Senate President, Senator Tony Ross (SD-4), said he is happy that lawmakers are one step closer to getting the renovation started.

Smooth Session 

Senate Majority Floor Leader, Senator Phil Nicholas (SD-10), said so far the session has gone pretty smoothly. Nicholas said there were some bills in the Senate that died on General File because they would have taken up a lot of floor time. Nicholas said it is interesting to note that this session is one of the rare times where the Senate passed more bills than the House. According to the legislative service office, the Senate introduced 101 bills and 84 of those have moved to the House. The House introduced 128 bills and passed 74 bills on to the Senate.