The House Committee on Government Organization convened at 9 a.m. in 215-E and then 2 p.m. to continue the posted agenda in 434-M. The committee met to discuss three pieces of legislation, all of which passed through committee.
House Bill 2699 would add a restriction requiring that the land area annexed by municipal annexation by minor boundary adjustment shall include that 50 percent or more of the land area annexed is occupied residential.
The bill generated some discussion as to how restrictive it would be to county commissions in terms of annexing certain property, or if it would add too much bureaucracy to the existing process. After limited debate, the bill passed through the Committee and was advanced to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Another bill, House Bill 2708, was also moved to the House Committee on the Judiciary. This bill would create the Local Government Labor and Consumer Marketing Regulatory Limitation Act. The bill prohibits political subdivisions from enacting any ordinance, regulation, local policy, local resolution or other legal requirements regulating certain areas of employer-employee relationship and the sale or marketing of consumer merchandise.
This bill seeks to restrict the prohibition of certain material such as plastic containers, bags, and other similar consumer merchandise. The bill also prohibits a political subdivision from increasing the minimum wage in a job, job applications, how employees organize, and how hours and scheduling are handled. All employer-employee relationships would be subject to state statute, and no law regarding these items passed by a political subdivision would be considered valid.
Delegate Tony Paynter, R-Wyoming, proposed an amendment to strike some of the language, therefore giving local municipalities more control at the local as to handling regulations.
The bill passed as amended and was advanced to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
House Bill 2330 was also passed and advanced to the House Floor, which would allow for the licensure of military personnel in certain technical fields. If a service member obtains a MOS related to the fields of plumbing, HVAC operation, or fire safety installation, they can also opt to take the examination for state licensure without going through additional state training.
