CHEYENNE – A series of bills ranging from marijuana to seat belt use failed under Wyoming law because it was not counted by Monday night and her quick death was caused by a procedural deadline.
Monday was the last day the bills were first approved in their home chamber, and more than two dozen pieces of legislation that had been approved by the committee were not heard on time.
A bill to legalize and regulate marijuana in Wyoming died without discussion on the floor of the house.
House Bill 209 has been proposed as a way for state officials to proactively address marijuana legalization rather than waiting for possible federal action that could make Wyoming ill-prepared for a new regulatory landscape. With a 30% excise tax on marijuana products, proponents of the bill argued that the measure could generate significant revenue for the state, making initial estimates that the measure would raise Wyoming around $ 47 million annually. However, this debate will have to wait at least another year.
A few proposals to increase revenue, one to increase the state’s fuel tax rate and one to increase the tobacco tax rate, failed without consideration in the House, the Chamber, which requires revenue measures. House Bill 26 would have raised the state’s fuel tax from 24 cents a gallon to 33 cents. House Bill 55 would have raised Wyoming’s tobacco tax by 24 cents per pack of cigarettes and raised the tax on damp tobacco snuff from 60 cents to 72 cents an ounce.
In the Senate, a bill allowing law enforcement agencies to run over drivers in Wyoming for simply missing seat belts – a proposal to combat the rising number of freeway-related deaths in the state – was not considered by the agency until the deadline.
Although several bills restricting abortion in Wyoming continue to go through the legislature, two House bills addressing reproductive rights in the state did not receive a chamber hearing until Monday.
Under the title “Abortion Informed Consent,” House Bill 70 would have required doctors to give women the opportunity to see an ultrasound or hear a heartbeat before undergoing an abortion procedure. Doctors should also have outlined the risks and alternatives to having an abortion.
Another abortion-oriented proposal that was not considered, House Bill 134, would have banned an abortion in Wyoming after a fetus had a detectable heartbeat.