It is over.

Wrap of the session goes quick. Most of the lobbyists head out when the issue they were following either finishes or dies, so by the last day or two things are kind of quiet. The folks that are left get nice again once the arguments are all over.

A lot of maneuvering goes on to establish an agenda for interim work for the various committees. In theory, the interim meetings which are conducted jointly with the committees from both houses provide an opportunity to take a more in depth and less pressured opportunity to delve into a complicated issue. Usually, better work occurs in the interim, but not always. Sources of interim inspiration are those bills that almost made it in the session. Any good idea may take a few tries, but eventually it will get passed. Sometimes bad ideas get weeded out in the process, but my read is that this does not happen as much as it should. Living with a bad law is a worse outcome than waiting a year or two for a good law.

Committee’s decided their interim topics and then request that Management Council approve the agenda and budget. Management Council is the committee that is the business manager for the legislature. Over the years Management Council has increased its influence. For the first several years of my legislative experience, standing committee’s had the freedom to decide their agendas – some feel that this was abused and led to excessive bills. The Labor Committee always is pointed to when this is brought up. I tend to feel that the Management Council approval process has not improved anything much.

The last day of the session is always bitter sweet. Most folks put their differences aside, shake hands and get on with it. There are lots of hugs, even a few tears, especially by and for members that will not be returning. I am losing two great friends from the Senate Rae Lynn Job and Jayne Mockler. I have much respect for these ladies. They are thoughtful, caring, strong and liberty-minded. I will miss them deeply in the Senate, but I look forward to their new lives. Jayne will most assuredly be the next mayor of Cheyenne and Ray Lynn will be moving to Cheyenne to pursue her work in educational consulting and teaching the teachers.

Then it is home to see what folks think. For me this is not too traumatic as I go home every weekend during the session. It is interesting to see what your constituents think of the legislature’s work and most importantly, how you did.

Saturday, the day after the legislature ended, I walked into the Summit Restaurant in Lander. I just made it through the front when a table of folks grabbed me to ask about the Castle bill in Cheyenne. It will be like that for a couple of weeks. I love it.

The body count is piling up. There are now almost as many dead bills as there are live ones here. That is no doubt a very good thing. One of the bill bodies is mine.

We are almost to that magic day: Monday will be the last day for bills in Committee of the Whole in the second house. Any bill that is not through Committee of the Whole by the end of Monday is dead. Many bills are already dead: Adult adoption, Driving with Headlights, Welfare Drug Screening, Salvage Yards-Restrictions, Governmental Immunity Vanpools, Small Employer Health Insurance (that’s mine), And about 120 others languish in Bill Neverland, where they will never grow up to be laws…at least this year. The old saying here is that good ideas come back and hopefully we won’t see any of the dogs again.

Now the name of the game is conference committees. Any legislation must be passed in an identical form by both houses. When the second house makes a change to a bill that came over from the originating house, the bill goes back to the originating house for approval of the changes. If the originating house does not approve, a conference committee of three members is appointed to meet with a like committee from the second house and come up with a changes acceptable to both houses.

A lot can happen in the conference committee process. The first committee is bound to try to work within the differences between the two houses and try to come up with a proposed report that is taken back to each house to try to get approval. If they can’t reach and agreement or the agreement is turned down by one of the houses, a new committee will be appointed. The new committee members may be the same or different and the committee may be appointed as a “free committee” that can bring back a proposed compromise outside of the strict boundaries of the differences between both houses. Conference committees happen fast. Notice requirements are by necessity less rigorous than for a standing committee meeting. Getting people together for a meeting is difficult during the chaotic last week. A person following a bill has to be on their toes too.

The budget has a special conference committee of five members from each house, rather than the normal three. Usually, the Senate appoints all of the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to be the Senate Budget Conference Committee. There is a lot of fuss and bluss with the budget conference committee, but the truth is that the budget differences are worked out and the budget is fast approved almost every time. It has been quite a while since a second conference committee has had to be appointed on the budget. I figure that by this time in the session, folks start getting in the mind to go home, and with all the money we have had the last few years, there is little mood for a real fight. On Friday, the budget conference worked out the same way, and the approved Budget Bill will be signed and sent down for the Governor’s signature.

I’m chairing the conference committee on the Senate File 11: Subdivisions – Large Acre Parcels. This is an important bill and it is the one that the some of the realtors and others back home in Fremont County do not like, while others at home like it a lot. Jayne Mockler and Bill Landen are also on the committee from the Senate. This is a good combination. Jayne is a great legislator and Bill is proving himself a very capable new Senator. The House has not appointed their committee yet, so stay tuned for the assessment on that side. I doubt if the activities of the conference committee will generate much attention, but that bill is one of the biggies this year.