District 47 candidates in the House

Republican Jerry Paxton and Libertarian Lela Konecny, the two general election candidates for House District 47, met at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) on October 12 to participate in a forum hosted by the Valley Service Organization (VSO). 

The current budget shortfall was the biggest subject of the night, but the candidates also answered questions about Governor Mark Gordon’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and their thoughts on past bills.

Budget Revenues

While the State of Wyoming has been facing a series of budget cuts, with Gordon asking for more, the two candidates were asked where they would look for potential revenues for Wyoming.

Paxton began by stating that the State of Wyoming had received “good news” in regards to Wyoming being able to utilize deep water ports to export coal. The incumbent representative stated that he believed Wyoming should take advantage of that. Additionally, Paxton raised his support for a corporate income tax in the state.

Such a bill was drafted for the 2020 Budget Session and would have levied a corporate income tax on any business with more than 100 shareholders. 

“We’re one of only two states in the United States that does not have a corporate income tax, so I think it’s time for us to take advantage of that,” said Paxton. “It would raise a sizable amount of revenue for us with a minimal amount of impact on the people that are the most vulnerable.”

Paxton stated he would also consider an increase on Wyoming’s sin tax for items such as cigarettes and alcohol.

“From there, I don’t know where we go. This is a moving target. The revenue picture changes almost daily, mainly because we have an awful lot of money invested and we never know what the stock market’s going to do,” Paxton said. “I think it’s time that we recognize it’s raining and we need to spend down our rainy day account.”

Konecny said she believed that the State of Wyoming should revisit payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) with the federal government. According to the Department of the Interior, payment in lieu of taxes are federal payments made to local governments that help offset losses due to the existence of non-taxable federal lands within their boundaries.

“We have just under 50 percent of our Wyoming land under Federal land control. That’s 30 million acres that we can do nothing with here in Wyoming,” said Konecny. “We’re getting just pennies on the dollar of what we would get in regular taxation for that land or if we’re able to use it for commercial availability. I think it’s time to bring the Feds back to the negotiation table to ensure that they pay their fair share to the people of Wyoming for that land.”

Konecny said that in addition to looking at PILT, the State of Wyoming needed to rightsize its budget as well as having an audit conducted to look for fraud, waste and abuse.

COVID-19

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Gordon and State Health Officer Alexia Harrist have faced criticism for their response. Paxton and Konecny were asked about their thoughts on the response to the pandemic.

Konecny said she believed that the governor and other officials were faced with difficult decisions in addition to large amounts of information in regards to the coronavirus. She added that her belief was that the government should have disseminated the information, but ultimately left the decision up to individual businesses as to how they chose to respond to COVID-19 instead of issuing health orders that impacted businesses.

“I am not in agreement with the current protocols being issued the way they are. If I had a choice, I would have opened things up much earlier. I think we needed to do a lot more targeted hunting with a rifle rather than hunting with a shotgun,” Paxton said. “I’m a little concerned about the lack of checks and balances that we don’t have with the State Health Officer.”

Past Bills

Two bills previously introduced to the legislature were brought up during the forum. One was known as “child marriage restriction” and would have raised the age of marriage in Wyoming from 16 years old to 18 years old. It was brought to the legislature for the second time in a row during the 2020 Budget Session but failed a vote for introduction, 31-28-1. Paxton voted in favor of introduction.

Both Paxton and Konecny, when asked if they would vote in favor of the bill if it were introduced a third time, stated they would vote in favor of the bill.

The second bill brought up that night was the “infant born alive” bill. The question raised by Joey Correnti IV, former House District 47 candidate and Carbon County Repbulican Chairman, asked if either candidate agreed with Gordon vetoing the bill following passage by both houses of the legislature. Correnti added that, in vetoing the bill, Gordon had violated the first plank of the Wyoming Republican Party platform.

Senate File 97 would have amended Wyoming State Statute 35-6-104 to read “The commonly accepted means of care that would be rendered to any other infant born alive shall be employed in the treatment of any viable infant aborted alive. Any physician performing an abortion shall take medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of an infant born alive. The parents of an infant born alive shall not be held criminally or civilly liable for the actions of a physician under this section.”

Konecny responded by stating “I just think a government that knows when a woman is pregnant is just a government that’s too big for me.”

Paxton stated he did not support Gordon’s veto, to which Correnti immediately asked why Paxton voted against the bill. According to voting records from the Wyoming Legislature, however, Paxton voted for the bill on second and third reading.

The incumbent representative responded to Correnti by stating that, unless the Supreme Court were to change or Roe v. Wade was to change, it wasn’t the best use of the legislature’s time to consider such bills as other states who introduced similar bills found the legislation unable to pass through the court system.

The entirety of the House District 47 forum was less than an hour.

The general election is on November 3.