Below is an article from the LA Times discussing the Duty of Care bill that I sponsored along with Sen. Ross last legislative session.  It is presently being debated in the Joint Judiciary Committee, where Sen. Ross and I serve as co-chairs.  The article is discussing some of the testimony that came out last week when we met in Cheyenne.

Reporting from Cheyenne, Wyo. – This is a state anxious to shed its reputation as the most dangerous place in the nation to work.
For the last several years, Wyoming has outpaced …

This is a story about my nephew that appeared in some papers back East.

Cadet finds time to get donuts
One of the toughest challenges during West Point’s six weeks of boot camp is the land navigation course. New Army cadets have only four hours to find at least eight out of 10 points scattered across a vast wooded training ground east of Central Valley.
One new cadet, Grant Demaree, 17, of Marriottsville, Md., wasn’t worried. He bet his comrades that he could find all the …

State Representative Keith Gingery of Jackson, announced today that he spent the morning flying over the Wyoming Range and the Hoback area looking at disputed oil and gas leases.  The Wilderness Society and the Wyoming Outdoor Council arranged with EcoFlight to fly Rep. Gingery, the Mayor of Pinedale, and 2 reporters from Pinedale over the Wyoming Range for a 2 hour flight in a small Cessna.  EcoFlight works to advocate for the environment by getting policy makers into the air to see the issues from above.

The Wyoming Outdoor …

Gingery Honored as Conservation Champion
The Wyoming Conservation Voters came out with their 2007 Legislative Scorecard this past week, and I was honored as a “Conservation Champion” for Wyoming.  Only ten legislators received the honor of being named a “Conservation Champion.
Specifically, the Wyoming Conservation Voters stated “Rep. Keith Gingery (R-Jackson/HD 23) helped win approval for Wildlife Trust funding late in the session after a series of similar proposals were rejected, setting the stage for a successful compromise between the House and Senate.”  The House position was a very low number for the …

Understanding Property Taxes
The first part to understand is that we have 3 different classes of property.  Minerals are assessed at their full 100% value.  Industrial property is assessed at a rate of 11.5%.  And residential property, which is what we are discussing, is assessed at 9.5%.  What this means is that if your house has fair market value as determined by the assessor of $100,000 (I know that is unrealistic for Teton County, but I am bad at math, so I have to use easy numbers) then you multiply by …

Gender Wage Gap in Wyoming
The Wyoming Department of Employment – Research and Planning came out with an article this month in the Wyoming Labor Force Trends Newsletter that discusses wage gaps in Wyoming’s counties.  The research and article are by Sylvia Jones, a Senior Research Analyst at the department.
 Ms. Jones relates that in 2006 full time working women in Wyoming earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by a full time working man in Wyoming.  One of the primary factors pointed out in the article for this problem is that …

Gingery Proposes Wolf Bill

The first part is the press release that went out yesterday that explains the bill.  The second part is the actual bill.   

Â
 Press Release
State Representative Keith Gingery of Jackson Hole proposed a wolf bill today that will resolve the issues highlighted by Federal District Court Judge Molloy in his recent ruling against the State of Wyoming’s wolf management plan.  The Wyoming wolf management plan allowed for a dual classification of wolves.  A classification for trophy game (which allows for hunting in season as prescribed by Game and Fish) …

Understanding Sales Tax
Local Governments bring in revenue from different sources including sales tax.  Teton County relies more heavily on sales tax than other communities in the state.  This has been seen as a good thing because the visitors to Jackson Hole end up paying for a large part of the government services.  Here is how the sales tax is done:
 State Sales Tax          4% (split 69/31 between the State and Local Governments.  Local Governments split up the 31% based on population)
General Revenue           2% (Teton County only does 1%)
Special Excise (SPET)    2%  …

Understanding Lodging Tax
A lodging tax is a tax that is placed on hotel rooms.  In Wyoming the lodging tax can be either 1, 2, 3 or 4% depending on what the voters of that community decides.  Teton County and Sublette county are the only two counties with no lodging tax.  Teton County used to have a lodging tax but it has failed to be approved in the past 3 attempts to get it reinstated.  The primary objection to the lodging tax in Teton County has to do with the distribution …

What’s a tax swap?
The number one issue I hear about from constituents is property tax.  On this blog we have discussed many different ideas and possible solutions to the property tax problem in Teton County.  My pessimism toward a legislative solution increases every day, especially since Governor Dave Freudenthal came out with his solution that specifically exempted Teton County out of the formula.  When asked at a press conference about the Teton County exclusion, he replied that property tax relief is not for people of means.  The way his formula …