Wyoming Legislature Reaches Bill Crossover Period

The following is a press release from the Wyoming Legislative Service Office.

After convening Jan. 11, the Wyoming Legislature has reached the midway point for the 2011 General Session. Wednesday marked crossover period for the body, meaning it was the last day for third reading in the house of origin. Any legislation that did not successfully pass third reading in the primary house Wednesday will not go on for further consideration in the opposite chamber.

A total of 432 bills were introduced during the 2011 General Session. With three weeks remaining in this year’s session, 264 bills remain active at the crossover period. The Senate introduced 160 pieces of legislation and 110 of those bills have moved to the House for consideration. The House introduced 272 bills and passed 154 bills on to the Senate for deliberation.

Both the House and Senate have addressed a broad range of issues affecting Wyoming residents thus far, and now the second house will get a chance to make changes and pass or vote down those bills sent from the house of origin. Although these bills have passed in their primary house, the legislation still must gain the approval of the second house and be sent to the Governor’s Office for consideration before becoming state law.

Feb. 24 will be the last day for bills to be reported out of committee in the second house and Feb. 25 will mark the last day for Committee of the Whole on bills in the second house. Feb. 28 is the last day for second reading on those bills and March 1 will be the last day for third reading on bills in the second house. Lawmakers hope to wrap up the 2011 General Session March 3.

With the 2011 General Session past its halfway point, the Wyoming Legislature encourages the public to continue to actively participate in the legislative process. For a complete list of all the bills that are still active and to track their progress as the session continues, please visit the Legislature’s Web site at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/.