Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 4

star Legislature Wednesday, February 1 1 939 A4 Star-Tribune, Casper, Wyo. ft "-f Joan CTjV Barron I I House rejects bigger raise for state employees Sullivan says he's still hopeful recommended pay hike will be approved 1 1 i 1 i "-'i its jvjf 'iy i i Legislative gray power: Rep. Wright Don't call her a Gray Panther 0 7y, Sullivan says opposed to 'minority' holiday CHEYENNE Gov. Mike Sullivan Tuesday said he would oppose any effort to change a bill creating a holiday honoring Martin By SCOTT FARR1S Star- Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE The Wyoming House Tuesday again rejected an attempt to raise state employee pay above the level recommended by the Joint Appropriations Committee. Gov.

Mike Sullivan, meanwhile, at a news conference before Tuesday's vote, said he is still "hopeful" the House in its final vote today or the Senate during its debate on the issue later in the session will approve a pay raise at least as large as the one he recommended. A substantial pay raise is needed to provide "incentives" to keep qualified state employees, Sullivan said, and to show "our respect for the people that work for us." Sullivan said he will continue to push for a larger pay raise in meetings with legislative leaders and individual legislators. Rep. ILL. Jensen, D-Teton, urged House members to approve the 5.2 percent pay increase Sullivan had recommended, but the House, on a 36-28 vote, decided to stick with the JAC recommendation of a 3 percent raise.

The percentage increases in both recommendations is from the current salary base, and does not include the one-time $550 bonus state workers received this year. If the bonus is computed in determining how much more income the typical state worker would receive under the JAC and House recommendation, the across-the-board increase recommended by the JAC is closer to 2 percent. Jensen noted state employees have not had a permanent salary in- the high turnover rate is "bad business" because it has made Wyoming "a training ground at our expense" as employees begin in Wyoming and take better-paying jobs in other states. Since the House had debated the same issue Monday and because House Republicans caucused for more than an hour before the pay raise vote, there was little debate on the pay raise Tuesday. Rep.

Dick Wallis, R-Campbell, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, did say the state could not afford a larger pay increase than recommended by the JAC. "Wyoming's economy is depressed," Wallis said. "Our revenues are not what we would like them to be." The House then defeated at attempt to raise community college salaries above the level recommended by the JAC on a 53-11, vote. Following that vote, Jensen said it would be futile to make a similar attempt for a larger wage increase for University of Wyoming employees. The pay raise is included in a $78.7 million budget bill that includes supplemental budget requests for a variety of state agencies and institutions.

The House will take a final vote on the bill today before it goes to the Senate for debate. The pay plan included in the bill also includes money to grant additional pay raises to the 28 percent of state employees whose salaries were found to be below those of comparable jobs in other state govern- H.L.JENSEN Pushed 5.2 percent raise FRED HARRISON Blames turnover at pen on pay crease in four years, and the 3 percent raise would not even keep state employee salaries ahead of inflation. Sullivan has said the 5.2 percent raise would only restore the purchasing power state employees have lost to inflation in the four years they have not received a raise. Rep. Fred Harrison, D-Carbon, said low wages have led to a 25 percent annual turnover rate at the Wyoming State Penitentiary located in his county.

"How many of you could operate your businesses this way?" Harrison said. Rep. Bill Vasey, D-Carbon, said ments and private industry. This situation is called a salary "greenline." About 6 percent of state employees will receive no salary increase whatsoever because their salaries have been found to be higher than those for comparable jobs in other state governments and in private industry. This situation is called a salary "redline." Additionally, those state workers who have been with the state less than four years and whose salaries are neither greenline nor redline will receive a pay raise of less than 3 percent, pro-rated based on their length of employment.

CHEYENNE "I'm not a Gray Panther. I'm gray power." The speaker was Rep. Virginia Wright, R-Sheridan, who took the podium earlier in the session to shepherd her first bill through the House no mean accomplishment for a freshman. Wright was beating back an amendment that she learned somewhat belatedly could be damaging to her senior citizens' bill. "Lots of you outmaneuvered me today.

But there will come a time," she warned good-naturedly. She pointed out that her county has more than 5,000 people over 65 years old. "Maybe you don't like me being here," she said. "They put me here." "Out-maneuvered or not, Wright won. Her original bill reduced from age 60 to 55 the 10 percent break in insurance rates given to drivers who take defensive driving courses.

The bill was changed to extend the rate cut to all drivers who take the special courses. "One of those young fellows, Eric Alden, (R-Platte) he's a graduate of Dartmouth took hold of it and wanted it for everyone," said Wright, a retired junior high school teacher and never thought of that." Luther King Jr. so the holiday would honor minority groups as a whole. 7 "I think we ought to honor Mar: tin Luther King," Sullivan said, "That's the purpose of the bill. That's the purpose of the nationa) holiday.

"It seems to me his stature in the country is sufficient to receive that kind of honor from our The King holiday bill is expected to be debated in the Senate sometime this week, having received a fa vorable recommendation from the Senate Labor and Federal Relations Committee. Two senators, Tom Stroock, R-Natrona, and John Turner, R-Sublette-Teton, have suggested the bill be amended so the holiday would be called "Wyoming's Day of Equal Rights" to honor the con-tributions of all minority groups to' Wyoming's history. The committee did not consider that suggestion, but did amend the bill so that the holiday would apply, only to state government, meaning school districts and local governments would have the option of, voting to adopt the holiday. Sullivan said he is "open tc debate" on that recommendation. "I think there's a good argument to be made that if school remained in session with some kind of reflec-.

tion given during that day then we can both honor this as a holiday and make greater progress" in mak-. ing students aware of the civil rights struggle, Sullivan said. Sullivan has declined to issue an executive order creating the holiday', as some governors in other states have done, but he has been a consistent supporter of having the Legislature approve the holiday. House funds judges' alcohol treatment CHEYENNE The Wyoming House has approved a measure that Keystone of reorganization plan wins final Senate OK Scott amendment rejected Opinion ACLU denounces parental consent abortion measure Lobbyist: Minnesota law not working By SCOTT FARR1S Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE Wyoming should not require parental consent for minors to get an abortion because a parental consent law in Minnesota has not worked, an American Civil Liberties Union representative said Tuesday. Cynthia Chavez-Kelly, an ACLU lobbyist, said an ACLU study of an 8-year-old Minnesota parental consent law found the law did not improve parent-child communication.

Requiring parental consent would "punish young women for becoming pregnant," Chavez-Kelly said at a news conference. "Even in the best of homes a pregnant teenager creates stress," Chavez-Kelly said, and requiring parental notification of a pregnancy in broken homes or homes with an abusive parent could create a potentially violent situation. The delay required in order to get parental consent can also increase the health risks associated with an abortion procedure, she said. Even with the parental consent requirement in Minnesota, Chavez-Kelly said the ACLU found that 25 percent of all girls who sought an abortion still did not consult their parents. Chavez-Kelly said the sponsor of the parental consent bill in Wyoming, Rep.

Richard Honaker, D-Sweetwater, has argued the rights of parents to regulate their children's lives transcend the rights of a minor to an abortion. "The American Civil Liberties Union would not presume to trample on the rights of parents," Chavez-Kelly said. "However, in pregnancy issues and termination of pregnancy issues, we are not dealing with parental rights. "They are not getting pregnant, they are not having the babies and they are not suffering the major health risks." Honaker countered Tuesday that because "many children are immature and vulnerable," they need their parents' help in making "informed, mature and well-reasoned decisions." Honaker noted that in Wyoming parental consent is needed for other minor operations, including tonsillectomies or setting broken arms. Honaker added that his bill also provides for an "expedited" court procedure where a minor may seek to have her request for an abortion granted even when her parents have refused to give their consent.

The parental consent bill has been approved by the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee and is expected to be debated in the full House later this week. True, the Senate's majority floor leader, opposed Scott's amendment, claiming that "by implication" it would allow the governor to remove powers or authorities from state agency officials with legislative sanction. Also opposed was Sen. John Vinich, D-Fremont, who acknowledged he isn't "too fired up" about reorganization in the first place. Sen.

Win Hickey, D-Laramie, said True and other opponents of Scott's amendment were trying to kill the reorganization package. The governor, Hickey said, "is a conservative man, more conservative than 1 am so I don't see what the worry is." But Sen. John Perry, R-Camp-bell-Johnson, who served on the legislative-executive committee for the government efficiency study that prepared the reorganization package, also opposed Scott's amendment. The Legislature, he said, must "keep its eye on the rabbit. The rabbit is how our government is going to look for the next 100 years." The key bill passed the Senate 24-5 with True, Vinich, Hickey, and Sens.

Jim Norris, D-Laramie, and John Fanos, D-Uinta, voting no. The bill now goes to the House for debate. Also passing the Senate Tuesday and headed for the House were companion bills to establish a department of commerce and to transfer the budget division to the governor's office. Slated for final Senate vote Wednesday are two proposed constitutional amendments to eliminate references to the Board of Charities and Reform and the offices of state geologist, state inspector of mines and state examiner. By JOAN BARRON Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE The Senate gave its final approval Tuesday 24-5 to the keystone of the government reorganization legislative package and also moved ahead companion bills to launch a major overhaul of state government.

Most of the debate on the main reorganization bill Monday and Tuesday was whether the Legislature should have the final say on the reorganization plans next year before the governor can put them into effect. On Monday, the Senate adopted amendments to tighten up the bill, slow down the process and as Sen. Diemer True, R-Natrona, said, take the reorganization plan off "automatic pilot." The Senate Tuesday rejected an amendment offered by Sen. Charles Scott, R-Natrona, that would have allowed the governor to continue with reorganization even if the Legislature rejects specific plans next year. The root issue, Scott said, is whether the Legislature really intends to put a reorganization plan into effect "Are we really going to do a reorganization this time or are we just going to talk about bits and pieces?" Scott asked.

He said he could recall four previous reorganization attempts which wound up with only minor or piecemeal changes while the state retained the basic structure of government it has had since 1 890. Scott blamed special interests for the death of previous major government reorganization attempts. He said he has confidence that Democratic Gov. Mike Sullivan won't do "anything wild." At 76, Wright is the oldest freshman in the Legislature and possibly the oldest member of the House or Senate. It's impossible to say for sure given the trend among legislators both men and women to omit their birthdates in the biographical sketches printed in the legislative directory.

As for her comment about the Gray Panthers, Wright said, "I was a little insulted they call us Gray Panthers. They go wild on so many things. I think the dignity of age should hold Wright won one of three house seats from Sheridan County over two other Republicans, one Democrat and one Libertarian. The only money she spent was her $10 filing fee. She returned all contributions and refused money from political action committees.

She is well known in the community, however, having served for ten years on the Sheridan school board, in addition to her years of teaching and in administration. A native of West Virginia, Wright moved to Sheridan with her doctor-husband 46 years ago. She had earned an undergraduate degree in West Virginia and when her husband died at age 40 following heart surgery, Wright went back to school. She earned a doctorate in educational science and guidance from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley, eventually became a junior high school principal and served as president of the state secondary school principals in Wyoming. She earned lots of awards over the years.

Teaching, she said, is "the most satisfying job I ever had," and particularly teaching junior high school age youngsters because they're "still "malleable." She said she never found more than a half dozen youngsters out of several hundred who were intractable. Wright's mother, aged 104, lives with her in Sheridan. Her only son, a Marine Corps captain died at age 40 of cancer. A married daughter lives with her husband near Sheridan at Eaton's ranch, which Wright said is the first dude ranch in the U.S. She is taking her responsibilities very seriously, reads all the bills and sits through all the floor debates.

At 76, she has learned to pace herself through the hectic long hours of legislative business. Nobody will outmaneuver her for long. "I thought I'd play it cool and calm," the former teacher said. "I work well behind the scenes. 1 use my counseling techniques." would give the Wyoming Supreme Court the power to insist that judges; with drinking problems receive treatment.

Under an amendment proposed by Rep. Scott Ratliff and approved by the House on Monday, the Supreme Court, after receiving reports of a judge's drinking pro-; blems, may temporarily remove that judge from the bench while the! judge receives treatment for alcohol; abuse. The amendment also apr propriated $25,000 to provide" alcohol abuse counseling anc treatment services for judges. Ratliff, D-Fremont, said there are cases of judges in Wyoming with drinking problems, and he believes it is "hypocritical" for those judges to rule on drunk driving cases! "when they have a problem; themselves." Judges should "have to set an ejx-l ample" for the public, Ratliff Two state district court judges' have been convicted of drunk driv- ing in recent years. Ratliff's amendment was added as a footnote to the judiciary's sup-! plemental budget bill which wilt receive final House action today be-; fore going to the Senate for debate there.

House OK's coal tax technology break CHEYENNE The Wyoming-House gave initial approval Tues- day to a bill designed to adjust tax laws to new coal technology. The bill, proposed by Rep. Mike Enzi, R-Campbell, exempts from taxation any coal consumed at the, mine in order to fuel facilities thai; process or treat coal State law already exempts from taxation natural gas used on a lease as fuel for gas production facilities. Enzi said the bill is aimed at AM AX Coal which has in-I vested $20 million in a coal drying" facility which increases the heating value of Wyoming coal and may; thereby expand coal markets. "That's $20 million of their own; money," Enzi told House in apparent contrast with the controversial clean coal program which has allocated $30 million for state loans to coal-upgrading technolo-' gy- Switching water project funding source may make waves make the water funds the source of the loan.

The water funds are expected to have about $103 million available for spending through mid-1990. This year's water development program not counting the $6.7 million treatment plant loan would spend about $28.4 million of those funds. Sheridan is under pressure from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to improve its water supply system, since residents of outlying areas are currently receiving poor water quality. EPA pressure statewide is creating more demands to divert water development funds away from developing major new water supplies and into finding new water sources for communities whose current water sources can't meet increasingly stiff federal water quality standards, water development proponents have said. By ANNE MacKINNON Star-Tribune capital bureau CHEYENNE The Wyoming Senate Monday approved a $6.7 million loan at 4 percent for water treatment plants in Sheridan.

But the Senate also switched the source of the money from the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund to the water development funds. The action is likely to cause protest from the water development community. The Wyoming Water Development Commission has in the past drawn the line at using water funds for water treatment plants, in an effort to preserve water funds for developing water supply. Sheridan is pursuing construction of a new regional water system requiring $15.5 million for repair of existing reservoirs and construction of transmission lines and $6.7 million for construction and repair of related water treatment plants. The Senate Monday gave final approval to bills for both parts of the project.

The bills will now move to the House. The water accounts are already the source of the $15.5 million mostly a grant, and partly a 4 percent loan for the reservoirs and transmission lines considered a water supply project. In response to a proposal by Sens. Jim Geringer, R-Platte and John Turner, R-Teton-Sublette, however, the Senate agreed to make the water development accounts instead of the mineral trust fund the source of the water treatment plan loan. Geringer said he is bothered by using water eevelopment money for water treatment plants.

But he is even more ooncerned with the mineral trust fund, and the Legislature "taking too much money out of future obligations and not making ourselves accountable." The trust fund provides for future generations, and the Legislature should "take current obligations out of current reserves," he said. The Legislature has already authorized though all the loans are not yet issued use of the vast majority of the $1 billion mineral trust fund for low-interest investments including farm loans and the $250 million gas pipeline loan, Geringer said. In past years, two areas have received mineral trust fund loans for aspects of water projects. The Senate last week resisted Ger-inger's preferred approach, which would have switched the source of Sheridan's treatment plant loan to the budget reserve account. Other senators said the budget reserve should be available to serve short-term needs including school funding.

But the Senate Monday accepted Geringer's substitute proposal to IT ti.