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21LSO-0399
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0399
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0095
Election of state health officer.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Bouchard, Driskill, French, James and McKeown and Representative(s) Baker, Bear, Burt, Fortner, Gray, Laursen, Styvar, Wharff and Winter
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to the state health officer; providing for the election and recall of the state health officer; amending distribution of department of health and state health officer authority; conforming and repealing provisions; providing rulemaking authority; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 9
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2
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103.1 is created to read:
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2
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103.1.
State health officer election; recall.
(a)
Beginning with the general election in 2022, the state health officer shall be elected in a statewide election for a term of four (4) years. The elected state health officer shall be licensed in Wyoming as a physician and shall carry out assigned statutory duties.
(b)
The state health officer
elected under this section
may be removed at any time by the qualified electors of the state in the following manner:
(i)
A
petition signed by at least
ten percent (10%)
of all the registered electors and demanding an election of a successor of the state health officer shall be filed with the secretary of state. The petition shall contain a general statement of the grounds for removal. The signatures to the petition need not all be appended to one (1) paper, but each signer shall
include the signer's
place of residence, giving the street and number. One (1) of the signers of each paper shall make oath before a competent officer that the statements therein made are true as
the signer
believes, and that each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be
;
(ii)
Within ten (10) days from the date of filing the petition the secretary of state shall determine whether the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified electors. The secretary of state shall attach to the petition
a
certificate, showing the result of
the
examination. If the petition is insufficient, it shall be returned to the person who filed it, without prejudice to the filing of a new petition to the same effect. If the petition is sufficient, the secretary of state shall then fix a date for holding
a special removal
election, not less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty (40) days from the date of the secretary of state's certificate of sufficiency. The
secretary of state
shall publish notice and arrange for holding the election.
(c)
The secretary of state shall promulgate rules to govern the operation of the special removal election as consistent as possible with the process for election of state officers at general elections. In any
special
removal election the candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected. The incumbent shall be removed from office upon the qualification of
the incumbent's
successor, who shall hold office during the unexpired portion of the
term for which
the
incumbent was elected. If the person who receives the highest number of votes fails to qualify within ten (10) days after receiving notification of election
,
the office is vacant.
(d)
This method of removal is in addition to any other methods provided by law.
Section 2.
W.S. 9
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2
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103(e)(intro), 22
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2
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105(a)(ii)(intro) and 22
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6
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117(a)(iv) are amended to read:
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2
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103.
Division administrators; appointment; qualifications; duties; salaries, tenure and removal generally; necessary personnel.
(e)
This subsection shall be repealed January 2, 2023. Until the state health officer's term commences following the 2022 general election, t
he director shall appoint a state health officer who shall be licensed in Wyoming as a physician and who shall carry out the statutory duties and any other duties assigned to him by the director. The state health officer shall:
22
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2
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105.
Terms of office and offices voted on at general elections.
(a)
The terms of office and offices voted on at general elections are as follows:
(ii)
Four Year Term.
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At the general election in 1974 and in every fourth
(4th)
year thereafter, there shall be elected the following officers: one (1) governor, one (1) secretary of state, one (1) state treasurer, one (1) state auditor, one (1) superintendent of public instruction,
one (1) state health officer,
county clerks, county treasurers, county assessors, county coroners, county and prosecuting attorneys, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of the district court. At every general election there shall be elected the necessary member or members of the Wyoming senate and county commissioners. The question of retention of a circuit court judge or a magistrate of the circuit court shall be submitted:
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6
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117.
Order of listing offices in partisan elections.
(a)
The major party primary and general partisan election ballots shall contain the offices to be voted on in the following order:
(iv)
Candidates for governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer,
and
superintendent of public instruction
and state health officer
;
Section 3.
W.S. 8
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1
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102(a)(xii), 8
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2
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101(a)(vi), 9
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101(b), 9
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3
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101(a) by creating a new paragraph (viii), 9-5-101(a), 9
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13
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102(a)(xvi), 9
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13
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108(a)(intro), 28
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115(g)(ii), 35-1-240(a)(intro), (xi), (b)(intro) and by creating a new subsection (c), 35-1-243(a)(intro) and 35-4-801(b)(i) are amended to read:
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102.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in the statutes unless the legislature clearly specifies a different meaning or interpretation or the context clearly requires a different meaning:
(xii)
"Elected state official" means the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer
,
and
superintendent of public instruction
and state health officer
;
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101.
Distribution of statutes, supplements and session laws.
(a)
Statutes, supplements and session laws shall be distributed as provided by contract with the publisher or as directed by the management council, to the following, without charge:
(vi)
One (1) copy to each of the
five (5)
six (6)
elected state officers;
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1
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101.
Location of seat of government; residence of state officials; deputies authorized; state superintendent of public instruction physical office designation.
(b)
The governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor
,
and
state superintendent of
public instruction
and state health officer
shall reside and maintain their offices at the seat of government.
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3
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101.
Salaries; amount; date of payment.
(a)
Salaries for clerk of the supreme court and district court reporters shall be determined by the supreme court as authorized by legislative appropriations. Subject to constitutional limitations the following state officers and members of the judiciary shall receive the salaries indicated by the figures following their respective titles:
(viii)
State health officer . . . . . $92,000.00
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5
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101.
State building commission; composition; general powers and duties; conflicts of interest.
(a)
The
five (5) elected state officers
governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and state superintendent of public instruction shall
constitute the state building commission. The governor shall be chairman of the commission, but in his absence from any meeting, one (1) of the members may act as chairman, and
shall preside at the meeting. All votes taken to decide the commission's final action on any matter shall be recorded.
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13
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102.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this article:
(xvi)
"State office" means the state offices of governor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, auditor, secretary of state
, state health officer
and member of the state legislature;
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108.
Disclosure required.
(a)
Not later than January 31 annually, each of the state's
five (5)
six (6)
elected officials and each member of the Wyoming legislature shall file a financial disclosure form with the secretary of state. The form shall be signed by the elected official or legislator filing it and under a certification that it is accurate. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the financial disclosure form shall contain the following information current as of January 15 of that year:
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115.
Submission of state agency plans to legislature; contents; purposes.
(g)
For purposes of this section and W.S. 28
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1
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116, "state agency" means:
(ii)
Offices of the
five (5) elected state officials and the attorney general
governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and state superintendent of public instruction
; and
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240.
Powers and duties.
(a)
The department of health, through
T
he state health officer, or under his direction and supervision, through the other employees of the department of health, shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
(xi)
To purchase and to distribute to licensed physicians, with or without charge,
as the department may determine,
or to administer such vaccines, serums, toxoids
and other approved biological or therapeutic products as may be necessary for the protection of the public health;
(b)
To assist the state health officer i
n carrying out duties prescribed under paragraphs (a)(ii) and (vii) of this section, the department shall:
(c)
The department shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
(i)
To exercise all the rights and powers and perform all the duties vested in or imposed by law upon the state department of health, its officers and employees, as constituted before this act, becomes effective; to hold hearings, administer oaths, subpoena witnesses and take testimony in all matters relating to the exercise and performances of the powers and duties vested in or imposed upon the department;
(ii)
To operate a public health nursing program which may include, but is not limited to, provision of immunizations, evaluation of the need of individuals for nursing home admission or services and the operation of an
infant public health nurse home visitation subprogram. The public health nursing program may, where and to the extent appropriate, be administered through or in conjunction with county, municipal or district health departments;
(iii)
To administer the Wyoming physician recruitment grant program provided in W.S. 35
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1101;
(iv)
If the duty is not assigned to another entity pursuant to W.S. 35
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1202, to develop initiatives and provide information to the public regarding palliative care as provided in W.S. 35
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1203.
35
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243.
Public health nursing.
(a)
In exercising its powers and duties under W.S.
35
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240(a)(xx)
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240(c)(ii)
, the department of health may enter into memoranda of understanding with the several counties separately for the organization, management, delivery and financing of public health nursing and related functions.
The county commissioners of each county shall have at least the following choices for organizing public health nursing and related functions:
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801.
Screening required for detection of genetic and metabolic diseases and hearing defects in newborn children; conduct of screening; exceptions; fees.
(b)
The specific tests to be done shall be determined by a committee consisting of the following:
(i)
The state health officer
;
in the department of health;
Section 4.
W.S. 9
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2
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103(d), 21
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4
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309(d)(i) and 35
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240(a)(xviii), (xx), (xxii) and (xxiii) are repealed.
Section 5.
(a)
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2021.
(b)
Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective January 2, 2023.
(END)
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SF0095