The 2008 Budget Session of the Wyoming State Legislature convenes Monday, February 11, 2008.

Click Here to listen to an audio broadcast of the 2008 floor proceedings.

• House Bills Introduced for Consideration
• Senate Files Introduced for Consideration
• 2008 Budget Footnotes

2008 House Bills for Consideration

HB 2: Alcohol Taxes to Treat Substance Abuse. Sponsored by the Select Comittee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Increases the excise tax on malt beverages and earmarks the revenue for subtance abuse prevention. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HB 12: Veterans' Mental Health. Sponsored by the Select Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Provides funding to address mental health and substance abuse problems of military personnel and their families associated with participation in military conflicts. Passed.



HB 13:  Psychologist Licensure.  Sponsored by Select Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  Amends the psychologists licensing act to remove separate licensing requirements related to school psychologists, revise the composition of the state board of psychology and revise the grounds and evidentiary standard for disciplinary actions. Passed Third Reading in the House, Died in Committee in the Senate. 



HB 31: Medical Safety Event Reporting.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee.  Authorizes the department of health to define safety events for purposes of mandatory reporting by health care facilities. Passed in both the House and Senate.



HB 38: Medicaid – Provider Reimbursements.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee.  Provides for regular revision of provider reimbursement schedules.  WMS Supports. Passed Third Reading in the House, Failed in the Senate.



HB 47: Long Term Care Access.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee.  Establishes a statewide network of aging and disability resource centers.  Amends the state Medicaid plan and provides for an appropriation. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HB 58: Safety Belt Violations.  Sponsored by Representative(s) Iekel, Bagby, Berger, Brown, Edwards, Gingery, Hammons, Jaggi, Landon, McOmie, Thompson, Walsh and Warren and Senator(s) Fecht, Sessions and Von Flatern.  Repeals W.S. 31-5-1402 (d) allowing motor vehicles to be stopped solely for safety belt violations. WMS Supports. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HB 82: Trauma Care Services. Sponsored by Representative(s) Lockhart, Cohee, Esquibel, F. and Martin and Senator(s) Perkins and Von Flatern. Extends the existing payment program to hospitals for un-reimbursed trauma care through July 2008. WMS Supports. Passed.



HB 87: Smoke Free - Enclosed Public Places. Sponsored by Representative(s) Millin, Craft, Davison, Gingery, Harvey, Jaggi, Warren, Zwonitzer, Dn. and Zwonitzer, Dv. and Senator(s) Fecht, Hastert and Massie. Prohibits smoking in enclosed public places. WMS Supports. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HB 93: Universal Health Insurance. Sponsored by Representative Esquibel, F. Provides for the Wyoming health care commission to solicit and review proposals for expanded health insurance coverage. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HB 118: Loss of Chance Doctrine Abrogated. Sponsored by Representative(s) Hallinan, Cohee, Dockstader, Edmonds, Iekel, Jorgensen, Lubnau, McOmie, Miller, Millin and Stubson and Senator(s) HInes.Abrogates the common law doctrine of loss of chance. Overrules Wyoming Supreme Court case adopting the “lost chance doctrine.”  Doctrine provides that if a plaintiff does not recover from a medical treatment or procedure, and the chance of recovery or survival was lessened by medical malpractice, the proper measure of damages is the total damages times the percentage reduction in the chance of recovery or survival caused by the malpractice.  WMS Supports. Passed Third Reading in the House, Died in the Senate.



HB 127: Prescription Drugs - Physician Shopping. Sponsored by Representative(s) Simpson, Gingery and Lubnau and Senator Fecht. Amends the Wyoming Controled Substances Act of 1971 to further specify illegal means of obtainig and dispensing controlled substances including prescriptions for controlled substances. Passed.



HB 155: Recruitment of Physicians and Dentists. Sponsored by Representative(s) Lubnau, Hallinan, Harvey, Iekel, Landon and Millin. Provides a grant program for physician recruitment and repeals the local matching funds requirement for the physician and dentist loan repayment program. WMS Supports. Passed.



HB 172: Homicide During Pregnancy. Sponsored by Representative(s) Harshman, Gingery, and Olsen and Senator Ross. Establishes the offense of involuntary termination of pregnancy to penalize any offender guilty of willfully killing any pregnant woman causing the termination of the pregnancy. Establishes a penalty of not less than twenty (20) years imprisonment and not more than life. Failed upon introduction in the House.



HJ 4: Designation of Disabilities. The designation of “Mental Retardation” should be removed and replaced with a more respectful term throughout the agencies within the State of Wyoming. Placed on General File in the House, was not considered in Committee of the Whole.

Top of Page

2008 Senate Files for Consideration

SF 6: Costs for emergency detentions-limitations.   Sponsored by the Select Committee on Mental Health & Substance Abuse. Limits use of the term hospitalization “costs” to those that are related to the treatment for the suspected illness within the first 72 hours of detention. Passed.



SF 10: Mental Health & Substance Abuse Appropriations. Sponsored by the Select Committee on Mental Health & Substance Abuse. This legislation includes the following biennium appropriations:

$   600,000.00 to counties receiving federal strategic prevention framework incentive grants to increase prevention efforts in the areas of substance abuse and underage drinking. 

$1,693,600.00 Substance abuse residential treatment for women and women with children; funding no more than 16 residential beds and services including childcare, case management, transportation, primary healthcare and therapeutic intervention.

$5,177,430.00 Crisis stabilization services for 4 regions in the state. The services authorized under this section shall include community based, short-term intervention for adults who are experiencing an acute mental health crisis and are in need of twenty-four (24) hour intensive mental health treatment and stabilization, and may include persons with co-occurring disorders. Six beds will be funded in the following regions: Basin, Central, and Northeast; eight beds will be funded in Southwest region.

$    40,000.00 Substance Abuse Training: provides specialized training to judges, attorneys and mental health, substance abuse and other providers who work with persons who may need mental health or alcohol or substance abuse treatment services. Passed.


SF 13: Mental Health Professions Practice Act-amendments. Sponsored by the Select Committee on Mental Health & Substance Abuse. The amendments to the licensing act modify certification and provisional licensing requirements and certification reciprocity.  The purpose of the change is to address workforce needs and reciprocity; providing for licensure under the laws of another state whose requirements are substantially similar to those required by Wyoming. Passed.



SF 24: Health Insurance – Clinical Trials.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services committee.  Requires health insurance policies to provide coverage for routine care related to an insured’s participation in a clinical trial or study. Passed.



SF 35: Physician and Dentist Recruitment.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.  Provides a grant program for physician and dentist recruitment and repeals the previous local matching funds requirement for the physician and dentist loan repayment program. WMS Supports. Failed upon introduction in the Senate.



SF 36: Public Health Emergencies – Volunteers.  Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.  Provides immunity from liability for volunteer health care providers without active licenses in the event that a public health emergency is declared by the state public health officer. Passed.



SF 62: Emergency Medical Technicians. Sponsored by the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee. Creates a volunteer emergency medical technician pension fund. Passed.



SF 74: Traditional Birth Care. Sponsored by Senator(s) Johnson and Vasey and Representative(s) Anderson, R., Brechtel and McOmie. Provides an exemption to the Medical Practice Act for the pratice of midwifery. WMS Opposes Failed upon introduction in the Senate.



SF 78: Prescription Drug Practices. Sponsored by Senator Mockler. Requires pharmacy benefit managers to pass on any benefits or payments received from drug manufacturers to covered individuals. Placed on General File in the Senate, was not considered in Committee of the Whole.



SF 85: Health Care Reform - Pilot Project. Sponsored by Senator(s) Scott, Fecht, Haster, and Landen, and Representative(s) Hallinan, Harvey, Iekel, Landon and Millin. Establishes a commission to design a plan for an experimental health care insurance reform pool. Passed Third Reading in the Senate, Died in the House.

Top of Page

2008 Budget Footnotes

• Medicaid - Provider Reimbursements
  WMS strongly supported HB 38, a bill titled “Medicaid – Provider Reimbursements.”  The Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee sponsored this bill.  The bill would have required the WY Department of Health to review and propose revision of provider reimbursement amounts every two years, to address inflationary costs to providers.  The bill passed the House and was successful in the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Committee, however HB38 Failed Committee of the Whole in the Senate.
  
  
• Obstetric Medicaid Reimbursement
  WMS has also worked to reauthorize and fund a Budget Footnote that will extend the Medicaid reimbursement schedule for Obstetric providers through next budget biennium.  The current schedule is set to expire June 30, 2008.   Senator Scott (Natrona County) successfully sponsored this amendment on the Senate Floor and attached it to the Senate version of the Budget Bill.  Representative Elaine Harvey (Big Horn/Park County) was successful in sponsoring this amendment on the House Floor and attaching it to the House version of the Budget Bill.  By obtaining mirror amendments in each chamber, we have greatly increased our chances of keeping this amendment in final version of the Budget Bill that emerges from a conference committee that reconciles the two bills in to one Budget Bill.
  
  
• Disappointment with Primary Care Budget Footnote
  WMS also attempted to obtain a Budget Footnote for Primary Care in the Senate with Senator Scott again as the sponsor.  This amendment unfortunately failed by a count of 6 votes in favor and 24 against.