Quality child care bill passes on last day of session

• Mar 15, 2006 Posted by Bill Luckett

  In my elation that the legislative session has ended and the post-session work that ensued and the Wyoming Cowboys' Mountain West Conference tournament championship basketball game Saturday night (what a heart-breaking loss!), I somehow forgot to post a blog entry on Saturday's activities. So I'll update you now.

  I began the morning at the Laramie County Democratic Party Convention at the Hitching Post. The first part of the morning was dedicated to candidate speeches. We heard from first lady Nancy Freudenthal, on behalf of the governor, who has not yet made his candidacy for a second four-year term official. We also heard from U.S. Senate candidate Dale Groutage and some potential local candidates, and we saw a video presentation from U.S. House candidate Gary Trauner.

  Mrs. Freudenthal talked about the legislative session and many of the good things that happened this year thanks to the work of Democrats. She said it is sad that legislators had to be backed into a corner, which is what Gov. Freudenthal did to them, before they agreed to lower the food tax, but it happened. "This would not be here today if not for the members of the Democratic Party," she said. She added that other legislative accomplishments, such as the 3.5-percent cost-of-living increase built into the budget for state employees and funding for water development, the Wildlife Trust Fund and the Arts and Cultural Resources Trust Fund, would not have happened if not for Democrats.

  Mrs. Freudenthal said her husband cares about people, and she spoke of his integrity. "You can trust him. You ask him a question, he's going to tell you what he thinks, and he's not going to walk out the door and do something else," she said.

  Dale Groutage said Congress needs to work on providing health care for all Americans, promote responsible development of our natural resources, and focus on developing alternative energies, an issue he said was tied to national security. He pointed out that he was a scientist for the U.S. Navy and got the job done for the Navy. Likewise, he will get the job done for Wyoming, which he said incumbent Sen. Craig Thomas has failed to do. As an example, he noted that Congress cut $13 billion in student aid money, despite the fact that some University of Wyoming students gathered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition asking members of our delegation to oppose the student aid cut.

  Dale grew up in Reliance, and during a coal mining accident there in the 1950s, the community really banded together, and it left Dale with the impression that that was what community was about, neighbor helping neighbor. To this day, he said, he still lives with those values that were instilled in him growing up: honesty, integrity, hard work and neighbor helping neighbor.

  During Dale's speech, Mrs. Freudenthal received a phone call. As I approached her to ask about House bill 92, the quality child care bill, she smiled and whispered that it passed the Senate 17-13, which is good news for Wyoming. She later announced that to those attending the convention.

  A county commission candidate and two potential legislative candidates also addressed the convention. I don't know whether all three of them are going to run for sure, and if they are, I don't know whether they are ready to go public with that information yet, so I won't mention their names here. But I hope they do run, because they are promising candidates who will represent us well.

  Back at the Legislature, Gov. Freudenthal gave his farewell address to both chambers and recounted some of the highlights of this year's budget session. Removing the sales tax from groceries was a "long-delayed step," he said, and people are going to appreciate it. The Hathaway Scholarship program will enable more people to go to college, and it will help ensure that they have better qualifications when they arrive, the governor said, while the quality child care bill will help our economy, working families, employers, and most of all, the children of this state.

  Democratic and Republican legislators held end-of-the-session press conferences in the afternoon. Sen. Ken Decaria, D-Evanston, said it can be daunting having only seven senators from our party, while there are 23 Republicans, but "we worked rather than fold up the tent." As a result, he said, "there are Democratic footprints on every piece of worthwhile legislation that comes out of there."

  Rep. Pete Jorgensen, D-Jackson, said it is becoming evident that the Democrats are the Legislature's fiscal conservatives, and Democrats have emphasized health care and family services as opposed to special interests.

  Sen. Kathy Session, D-Cheyenne, was a member of the Children and Families Initiative that crafted the quality child care proposal, and she was on the conference committee that hashed out a compromise version of the bill (House Bill 92) which the Legislature passed. Although the bill is a far cry from the proposal that was introduced in the Legislature last month, it is still a step in the right direction, and Sen. Session seemed pleased with the outcome. "We have a chance to do it now, and we have a chance to do it right," she said.

  Rep. Ann Robinson, D-Casper, said Democrats may be low in numbers in the Legislature, but they carry a lot of credibility. She said removing the sales tax from groceries was "the greatest think I've seen done for the people of Wyoming in my 10 years in the Legislature." It eliminates a tax that really matters to people, especially to the poor, working people, and young families. But the tax exemption is part of the budget bill, which means it is only in effect for two years starting this July. The next mission will be to remove it permanently, and Rep. Robinson is leading the effort to collect signatures to place the issue on the ballot so people can vote to do just that.

  Please check back with our official state party blog from time to time, as Executive Director Kyle DeBeer, Field Director Kaydee Dahlin and I will report regularly on our activities and other party events throughout the coming year.

   

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• Re:How about discussing the real issues in Wyoming and the rest of the country.
  Mar 29, 2006 | pat schroeder | mountainmama57@webtv.net 
  Let me start by saying that I am 64 and a life long yellow dog Democrat .Until now! My family has been in this country since Jamestown,VA 1607. Thats 400 years. I never missed voting in an election of any kind.The first 40 years I lived in a small town in northern ILL. I moved to AZ for a few years then came to Wyoming in 1989. My husband now gone was a truck driver. He worked in the logging woods. We watched while the boss hired illegals from down in Pheonix and brought them up to the woods in Flagstaff and put 10-14 to a small trailer. Did not pay them all summer and at the end of it would just abandon them with no pay.Plus they bring in illegal drugs and use the hospitals and other resources for free .Pay no taxes .Send their money back to Mexico by money order. We then went to work in Burley,Idaho for Simplot who employs illegals in the fields. We rented a mobil home in a M H park from an older German man and within a week we were approached by Mexicans and told we had to pay protection to stay there. We left and came on to Wyoming. Now my Democratic party wants to let in more illegals and worse, give them legal status .Get your heads out of your ass. I am leaving the Democratic party . I can't be a Republican as that is even worse. So here I am in voting hell with no one to represent me nor take back the country from the evil ones . Shame on you all. Too bad you can't grow some balls and fight for this country. Guess it is too late because you are going to push for Hillary who will never get elected even if all the other candidates opposing her drop dead. And by the way ,I can' go back to my hometown of Round Lake ,ILL as it is completely Mexican now. That happened in just 20 years time. Pat

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