Summary Proceedings

D r a f t O n l y A p p r o v a l P e n d i n g SSUUMMMMAARRYY ooff PP RROOCCEEEEDDIINNGGSS JOINT JUDICIARY COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEETING INFORM ATION October 13 & 14, 2011 University of Wyoming College of Law Laramie, Wyoming COMMITTEE MEM BERS PRESENT Senator Drew Perkins, Co-Chairman Representative Kermit Brown, Co-Chairman Senator Bruce Burns Senator Leland Christensen Senator Floyd Esquibel Senator Larry Hicks Representative Joe Barbuto Representative Bob Brechtel Representative Richard Cannady Representative Matt Greene Representative Sam Krone Representative Bob Nicholas Representative Frank Peasley Representative Mary Throne LEGISLATIVE SERVICE OFFICE STAFF Lily Sharpe, Staff Attorney OTHERS PRESENT AT MEETING Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Subcommittee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting. The Committee Meeting Summary of Proceedings (meeting minutes) is prepared by the Legislative Service Office (LSO) and is the official record of the proceedings of a legislative committee meeting. This document does not represent a transcript of the meeting; it is a digest of the meeting and provides a record of official actions taken by the Committee. All meeting materials and handouts provided to the Committee by the Legislative Service Office, public officials, lobbyists, and the public are on file at the Legislative Service Office and are part of the official record of the meeting. An index of these materials is provided at the end of this document and these materials are on file at the Legislative Service Office. For more information or to review meeting materials, please contact the Legislative Service Office at (307) 777-7881 or by e-mail at [email protected] The Summary of Proceedings for each legislative committee meeting can be found on the Wyoming Legislature’s website at http://legisweb.state.wy.us. PAGE 2 OF 10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Committee met to consider various topics, including exemptions from execution and attachment, access to courts, public records and open meetings statutes, failure to report missing children, method of execution, governmental claims act liability limits, wrongful death actions and juvenile justice. CALL T O ORDER (OCTOBER 13, 2011) Co-Chairman Perkins called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes from the August 30 and 31, 2011 Committee meeting were approved. 12LSO-100.W1, EXEMPTIONS FROM EXECUTION AND ATTACHM ENT Paul Hunter explained that the purpose of exemptions is to give an individual who has taken out bankruptcy a fresh start. Mr. Hunter recognized that determining exemption amounts involves balancing the interests of debtors and creditors, but noted that the current exemption amounts were set long ago and inflation has diminished their effectiveness. Mr. Hunter also pointed out that W.S. 1-20-106(b) provides an exemption for a car which does not exceed $2,400 in value. Some state courts have interpreted the language, however, to mean that if the value of the debtor's car exceeds $2,400, the debtor is not entitled to a motor vehicle exemption. Dave Johnson, Wyoming Bankers Association, iterated that exemptions are a method of assisting individuals who have promised to repay a loan and who will no longer keep that promise. Mr. Johnson stressed that bankruptcy is a long and expensive process for banks. He urged the Committee to be fair to banks in determining the amount a bankrupt debtor may keep. Kim Withers, Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union, provided written remarks (Appendix 3). She emphasized the importance of providing an exemption amount which allows borrowers to stay in their homes and on their farms or ranches so they can repay their loans. Ms. Withers also urged the Committee to consider instituting a separate exemption for farms and livestock. LSO staff presented a state comparison of amounts exempt from execution and bills introduced in prior years (Appendix 4). Senator Burns moved, seconded by Senator Hicks, to have the bill sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee in the 2012 Budget Session. After consideration and adoption of amendments, the motion carried on a roll call vote, 4-1 in the Senate Judiciary Committee and 9-0 in the House Judiciary Committee. Senator Perkins voted no. The following amendments to the bill were adopted: Page 1-lines 13 After stricken "($10,000)" insert "twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00)". Page 2-line 7 Strike "in any". Page 2-line 8 Strike the line through "consisting" insert "or other lands". Page 2-line 9 After "home" insert "and a lot or lots". Page 2-line 10 Before "equipped" insert "the house trailer or other movable home is"; after "support" insert "."; delete balance of the line. Page 2-lines 11 and 12 Strike entirely. Page 2-line 17 After stricken "one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)" insert "two thousand dollars ($2,000.00)". Page 3-line 17 After stricken "dollars ($2,000.00)" insert "four thousand dollars ($4,000.00)". Page 3-line 22 Before "A" insert "The value in"; strike "in value". JOINT JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Summary of Proceedings WYOMING LEGISLATIVE SERVICE OFFICE • 213 State Capitol • Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 TELEPHONE (307) 777-7881 • FAX 307-777-5466 • E-MAIL [email protected] • WEB SITE http://legisweb.state.wy.us PAGE 3 OF 10 Page 3-line 23 After stricken "two thousand four hundred dollars (2,400.00)" insert "five thousand dollars ($5,000.00)". Page 4-line 6 After stricken "two thousand dollars ($2,000.00)" insert "four thousand dollars ($4,000.00)". Page 4-line 9 After stricken "($2,000.00)" insert "four thousand dollars ($4,000.00)". (See Appendix 5 and 6 for 12LSO-100W.1 and 12LSO-100W.2 with adopted amendments). 12LSO-149.W2, ACCESS TO COURTS: ADDITIONAL FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGE Honorable Marilyn Kite, Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice, and Honorable John Fenn, Fourth Judicial District Court Judge, discussed the need for an additional district court judge in Johnson County. Chief Justice Kite provided a handout showing the work load assessment model for 2011 and the need for an additional judge (Appendix 7). She advised that facilities will be completed in Johnson and Sheridan Counties to accommodate another judge. Justice Fenn pointed out that the work load study indicates a need in the Fourth Judicial District for an additional 1.5 to 1.8 judges. He explained that it has become very taxing to keep up with the case load. Johnson County has initiated the construction of additional court rooms and office space. The construction will be complete in the fall of 2012. Senator Burns moved, seconded by Senator Christensen, to have the bill sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee in the 2012 Budget Session. After consideration and adoption of an amendment, the motion carried on a roll call vote, 5-0 in the Senate Judiciary Committee and 9-0 in the House Judiciary Committee. The following amendment to the bill was adopted: Page 3-line 21 Delete "person" insert "writing". (See Appendix 8 and 9 for 12LSO-149W.2 and 12LSO-149W.3 with adopted amendment.) PUBLIC MEETINGS STATUTES, 12LSO-98.W1 PUBLIC RECORDS STATUTES, 12LSO-99.W1, 12LSO-99.W2 (STAFF COMMENTS), 12LSO-99W.3 Mark Harris, Wyoming Association of Municipalities, Ron Harvey and Cindy DeLancey, Wyoming County Commissioners Association, Bobbie Frank, Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts and Jim Angell, Wyoming Press Association, addressed the Committee on the public meetings bill draft, 12LSO-98.W1 (Appendix 10) and the public records bill drafts, 12LSO-99.W1, 12LSO-99.W2 and 12LSO-99.W3 (Appendix 11-13). Mr. Harris and Ms. DeLancey urged the Committee to keep the penalty language in both the public records and public meetings bill drafts. The language, they relayed, was requested by the prosecutors in the working group. Bobbie Frank urged the Committee to keep language in W.S. 16-4-202(c) which allows 7 days to respond from the date of an "acknowledged" receipt of a public records request. Mr. Angel stated that the Press Association supported the public meetings bill draft, but vehemently opposed the deliberative process language as proposed in W.S. 16-4-203(b)(v) of the public records bill draft. Mr. Angell noted that even under the federal Freedom of Information Act, the deliberative process privilege must be narrowly construed. The additional proposed language would be inconsistent with the requirement of narrow construction. Mr. Angel also opposed the "or a quorum or majority thereof" language in the W.S. 16-4-201(a)(v) definition of "public records." The Committee received written responses to the questions posed in August concerning public records from Wyoming Press Association (Appendix 14) and Wyoming County Commissioners Association (Appendix 15). The JOINT JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Summary of Proceedings WYOMING LEGISLATIVE SERVICE OFFICE • 213 State Capitol • Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 TELEPHONE (307) 777-7881 • FAX 307-777-5466 • E-MAIL [email protected] • WEB SITE http://legisweb.state.wy.us PAGE 4 OF 10 Committee received responses and a comparison of state public record statutes from the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (Appendix 16). Don Richards, University of Wyoming, supported the compromises reached by the working group on public records and the LSO staff comments. Mr. Richards offered suggested clarifying amendments (Appendix 17) and provided responses to the Committee's questions (Appendix 18). Dan Neal, Equality State Policy Center, opposed the additional deliberative process language and agreed with the written comments from Shannon Anderson, Powder River Basin Resource Council (Appendix 19), that the custodian of public records should be required in W.S.

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