Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 4

Monday, May 25, 1998 onnog I- fA Casper Star-Tribune Campaigning after November? Cheyenne man sees Bebout, Tipton may battle to be House speaker 1 y- Chris Tollefson STAR-TRIBUNE ---V A -He RIVERTON (AP) Two longtime Fremont County legislators have announced reelection bids, saying they will focus on the primary and general elections and not assume voters will send them back to the Legislature. But Reps. Eli Bebout of TIPTON BEBOUT ELECTION Riverton and Harry Tipton of Lander could find themselves Both Bebout, who is the majority floor leader, and Tipton, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have expressed interest in becoming speaker. If the Republican Party retains control of the House as expected this year, Republican representatives will choose a speaker and other House leaders following the general election. "I think I'm very capable of doing it," said Bebout, who is in his 12th year in the House.

"In that particular position, with the qualifications I have, legislative and otherwise, I think I would bring a lot to the table to offer the state." According to past practice, Bebout would become speaker after serving the past two years as majority floor leader, the No. 2 position in the House. on his bid for speaker. "A lot of things have to happen," he said. "I think we need to get people elected and discuss agendas and other things first.

There is plenty of time for that." Tipton also said it seemed early to him to begin promofc ing his bid for speaker, "but it's the system, and I do like being in the Legislature," he said. Both said the situation has not harmed their relationship. "That's the process. That's politics," Tipton said. "It's not something that interferes with our friendship or how we work together." Said Bebout: "I don't think it has strained our relationship.

He can do whatever he wants to do, and I'm going to do what I'm going to do. That's just the way it works out." Give it back? In one of the stranger moves in recent Congressional history, Republicans are moving to create a commission to look into compensating families in New Mexico of Spanish descent who contend that the federal government stole their land 150 years ago. The House Resources Committee approved the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act this week, a bill that could set in motion some sort of com- But some lawmakers are pushing for a change in the way the House leadership is selected. Tipton, who is finishing his 18th year in the House, said he has received "pretty good support" in his bid for speaker. "Jockeying started to change things in the 1994 session," Tipton said.

"In 1996 I was promoted to run (for speaker), but it was too late to try to do it." But Bebout said it is too early to focus his attention embroiled in an extended campaign after the Nov. 3 general election. The two Republicans are considered the top candidates to become speaker of the state House, a position that Bruce Hinchey, R-Casper, is leaving to run for the state Senate seat being vacated by Gail Zimmerman, also a pensa- desVen- Washington dants of Spanish Notes A Notes colonists who were granted Monument to a leader changes iifc wind power CHEYENNE (AP) FOt years, generation of electricity by wind power has iw-volved large rotors mounteii on tall towers, a system that a Cheyenne man said is inefficient and prone to failure. To solve the problems, Ron Taylor has formed a new company to promote and market his invention: a win-driven turbine that spira around a vertical axis, rather than horizontal. The turbines are mounted on pads with sides sloped to direct ground winds up inty the turbines.

The assemblies stand about 20 feet tall, whijp conventional turbine towers can be up to 200 feet tailor taller. Taylor is president of TMA which is negotiating with several utilities to seJJ electricity generated on a wind farm on the King about six miles west of Cheyenne. itj Taylor estimated his larger turbines can generate at least 250 kilowatts, or enough' to power 100 residences month. He said he first became interested in wind-generated power in 1993, when he saw a magazine ad about a large fan designed to dry grain. "It moved more air with less horsepower than any other such device because it was a better and more efficient design," he said.

"That gave me the idea." Taylor said his vertical-axis turbines have many advantages over conventional tower-mounted rotors. They present little danger to birds, he said, adding they could be easily screened to avoid any danger to birdsrBy contrast, the potential danger to birds was a major con cern federal officials had regarding a wind farm project under construction in Carr bon County. ZL', Taylor also said because his design is so simple, the chance of structural failure or damage from wind gusts is lower than with tower-mounted turbines. He also said most of the components can be made or assembled in developing countries. Another advantage, Taylor said, is that small versions of his turbines can be built and used as easily portable generators.

A. 5ii 7V "1, if. 44 vf.t- I MIKE MCCLUREStarTittHNM oomapomtont The grave of Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian woman who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition, stands at Fort Washakie. claims in what is now the American Southwest by the Spanish crown. The Mexican-American war of 1848 resulted in U.S.

control of what is now New Mexico, California, Arizona and 'parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. By most accounts, Ithe federal government and lAmerican land speculators cheated the Spanish settlers of millions of acres of land. For the last century and a many of their heirs have a grudge against the government. i But the Republican majority's sudden embrace of their has more to do with politics and ideology any sympathy for a injustice. GOP strategists have been searching for ways to win over Hispanic voters, who play a Icrucial role in the politics of Texas, California and Florida.

Those states also happen to account for pivotal electoral and congressional seats. The treaty has an added for Western conservatives if claims are successful, 'tracts of public land could be or transferred into private hands. Many conservatives resent federal control of lands within their states, and view any reduction in that as a positive step toward future development. "Those who want federal land ownership will oppose this bill. Those who want pri-vate land ownership, and rightfully so, will support it," said Resources Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, at Wednesday's hearing.

Currently, the bill only per-tains to New Mexico. While it's highly unlikely any claims would ever be made for the parts of southwest Wyoming pnce held by Spain, environmentalists fear it could set a precedent for others seeking compensation from the government. So far, the GOP hasn't mentioned giving any land back to Indian tribes who, after all, occupied North America before the Spaniards came, and who arguably suffered worse thievery from the U.S. government. But then, the Indians Jran't put the Republicans over the top in the California elections.

Shea dismisses land access romplaints: In an interview I his week, Bureau of Land ianagement Director Pat Shea rejected claims by oil and gas producers that his agency has shackled the industry with development restrictions on pub-Jic lands. Producers have a new study that they claim documents the growth of those restrictions over the past 15 years. According to a report commissioned by the nation's largest 2il and gas associations and officially released last week, access to mineral reserves in Wyoming and seven other Western states has declined by tO percent since 1983. I The study purports to establish 'a direct statistical correlation between discretionary Please see NOTES, A7 1 I'm mmm class action suits. In many instances, the contracts specified that the lawyers would receive up to 25 percent of any settlement award an amount that in Florida alone could result in fees as high as $1.2 billion.

Faircloth and his supporters stated flatly that the size of those The following chart lists selected votes by Wyoming's congressional delegation during the past week of the 1998 session. Where possible, a summary of positions for and against the measure under consideration has been included. Senate votes Tobacco settlementeliminating tax increase The Senate spent most of the week in a free-ranging debate on the merits of legislation that would define the terms of a national tobacco settlement with the nation's largest cigarette manufacturers. Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo introduced an amendment that would have eliminated the bill's current provision for a 1.

10 per pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes. Ashcroft argued that the cigarette tax increase would fall disproportionately on the poor, pointing to one analysis that suggested that smokers earning less than $30,000 per year would pay nearly 60 percent of the total taxes raised by the bill. Given that much of the more than $600 million raised annually by the bill could go to fund other unrelated programs, Ashcroft argued that the tax increase was only an excuse for Congress to spend more money. His opponents countered by maintaining that the steep increase in the price of cigarettes would reduce teen smoking, reimburse states for health care costs of smoking-related illnesses and pay for smoking education and cessation programs. A tax increase, however it is spent is a necessary component of any settlement they said.

A yes vote was a vote to table the Ashcroft amendment and retain the $1.10 per pack tax increase. The amendment was tabled by a vote of 7226. SeaKkeEn2)-No Sea Craig Thomas-No Tobacco setttomenV attorney fees Sen. monitoring and patrolling the US. borders.

Trafkant argued that the border patrol and INS dont have the resources to patrol the nation's borders adequately to keep out illegal aliens and drug shipments. The US. military, he said, can offset that manpower shortage and protect borders. Opponents countered that troops have little, If any, law enforcement experience and that I combat training could prompt soldiers to shoot first and ask questions later. They pointed to the controversial shooting last year of a young teen herding his family's livestock in Texas by a Marine unit engaged in antidrug patrols as an example of problems that could occur.

A yes vote was a vote to approve the ti amendment The amendment was adopted by a vote of 28132. Rep. Barbara Cubtri Yes MinxMBkifbffli8t)DnAcVYIitflpMB80s The Houaa spent the early part of the week debating bill that would require Congress to take a separate vote anytime legislation is up for consideration that would imposeoosts on private businesses that exceed 100 million. The bill would automatically raise a "point of order" that-wouW require debate and a separate vote to proceed with the legislation. Supporters insisted that the change was needed to force Congress to consider the effects of policy and regulatory changes on businesses before It proceeds.

In the past Congress has routinely imposed expensive and unnecessary requirements on businesses without regard for job losses or costs, they said. Skeptics argued that the bin would make It difficult for Congress to pass legislation protecting the environment health and worker safety. Opponents of environmental improvements, for example, would be able to disguise their opposition by raising the point of order without having to go on record as opposing the legislation Itself, they said. A yes vote was a vote to approve the bill. The bill passed by a vote of 279-132.

Rep. Barbara CuHn -Yes approval of that agreement Rep. David Minge, offered a motion that would have required the conference committee to approve a compromise between the House and Senate versions of trie bill that stayed within the constraints of the balanced budget agreement currently in effect and did not use any budget surplus to pay for more highway spending. Minge and numerous conservatives warned that the current proposals for highway spending are fiscally irresponsible, using surplus revenues and undetermined spending cuts to pay for unjustifiably large increases in highway spending. They warned that pork barrel spending on highway projects could force deep cuts in other more essential programs.

Opponents of the measure sought to portray supporters as wanting to spend gas tax revenues on other projects, when taxpayers expect that the money they pay In gas taxes should be used to maintain the roads. A yes vote was a vote to approve the motion and instruct conferees to limit highway spending Rep. Barbara CuHn-Yes Defense authortzatkdrugerrforoarnent During the debate on a bill that would authorize defense expenditures for the nation's armed forces. Rep. James Traffcant DOhio, introduced an amendment that would authorize the Secretary of Defense, under certain circumstances, to deploy units of the armed forces to assist the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs Service in contracts abused taxpayers' right to get a fair settlement and resulted in ridiculously high fees.

The Faircloth amendment would cap those fees by awarding lawyers a rate of $250 per hour for work they did on the settlement Opponents of the amendment argued that states knew what they were doing when they entered into those contracts, and Congress had no right to interfere. They maintained that the states could never have attracted the quality of lawyers who took those cases on a contingency fee basis, and that the percentage of the awards are standard parts of contingent contracts. A yes vote was a vote to adopt the amendment and limit attorney fees for tobacco settlements. The amendment was approved by a Sea Mike Enz) -Yes Sea Craig Thomas No House votes Highway spending blVmotton to Instruct In anticipation of a pending conference committee agreement that would authorize some $200 billion in federal highway spending over the next six years, the House considered several resolutions that would impose conditions on the Lauch Fairdoth. introduced an amendment to the tobacco settlement bill that would scrap arrangements states had made with private lawyers for reimbursement of their fees while litigating tobacco settlements in vanous For information, ijm-stions and comments about this page, call (307) 2VU)582 or (800) 442-fifllfi; email statetrib.com; fax (307) 2660568..