Stand up and support the ESPC

The Equality State Policy Center (ESPC) is the place to join others who share and advocate a progressive vision for Wyoming. The ESPC's unique coalition - more than 25 organizations including conservation, labor, educators, public employees, trial lawyers, and social justice groups - is the public interest advocate for democracy reforms, developing political diversity and improving conditions for Wyoming's working families.

You, too, can be part of this effort as a Friend of the ESPC with a contribution to the only funding appeal we make each year.

What's New?
The ESPC's Executive Director. In 2005, the ESPC made the transition from its founding executive director, Tom Throop, to his successor, Dan Neal (former editor of the Casper Star-Tribune). Dan's 24 years at the paper, spent in large part on getting to know people and issues all around the state, fit him superbly for the ESPC directorship. We look forward to moving ahead with Dan and making good use of his media skills.

Wyoming Association of Nonprofit Organizations (WANO). The ESPC played a key role in developing and establishing this new umbrella organization, whose first action was to offer an inexpensive, defined-benefit health insurance policy for employees of nonprofits. WANO hopes to expand this program and provide other benefits and training opportunities. Dan Neal represents the ESPC on WANO's board of directors.

Wyoming Economic Self-Sufficiency Report. Representatives of the ESPC served on the committee to develop this groundbreaking study, released last February. The study details the wage levels necessary to provide basic economic necessities - shelter, food, transportation, childcare and health insurance - for different family configurations in each Wyoming county.
The ESPC is pressing for integration of the study into every aspect of state government activity (for example, wages and benefits for state employees and contractors doing business with the state) as a start on improving conditions for the 30% of Wyomingites who currently live below a level of basic economic self-sufficiency.

Blue-Green Alliance. Since its inception, the ESPC has provided a forum where all its members can discuss issues and build relationships and trust. Among other advantages, this has resulted in a new organization, the Blue-Green Alliance, focusing specifically on relationships between conservation and labor organizations. The ESPC is providing staff support for this revitalized organization, which will study energy development proposals with an eye toward creating good jobs and protecting Wyoming's clean air, water and wildlife habitat.

Legislative Accomplishments. With a strong research and advocacy effort and help from key legislators, the ESPC fended off big tax breaks for enhanced coal development that would have robbed cities and towns of critical revenues. The proponents of the tax breaks said they were needed to compete with other states offering "incentives" for construction of coal gasification or liquefaction plants.

ESPC research showed that other states (primarily Illinois) do offer incentives, but the incentives are tied to job creation and other economic benefits; the Wyoming proposals had no such ties. Look for this issue again in the 2006 session (see Wyoming's Fiscal Policies, below).

ESPC lobbyists also worked hard on health care issues and were instrumental in passage of a patient safety-reporting bill that will enable the Health Department to collect data needed to identify safety problems in Wyoming’s hospitals and nursing homes. In other states, this broad reporting has revealed problems that individual institutions overlooked but could be resolved with inexpensive, common sense solutions.

New Members of the ESPC Coalition. The Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the Wyoming Conservation Voters joined the ESPC earlier this year. The United Steelworkers local in Rock Springs is expected to join before the end of 2005, bringing the coalition total to nearly 30 organizations.

New Developments on Continuing Issues
Wyoming Business Council. In 2002, the ESPC published a study of the Wyoming Business Council (WBC), the state agency primarily responsible for economic development. When the Legislature created the WBC in 1998, it dismantled the then-Department of Commerce and created a “corporate-style” agency with different personnel policies, salaries and benefits than other state agencies.

Although this was supposed to make economic development efforts more accountable, the ESPC’s study found very little accountability as the agency’s strategic goals and budget formats shifted from year to year, making apples-to-apples comparison almost impossible.

The ESPC also found that the WBC was building a political constituency by funneling funds to local economic development entities and other groups – money used in part to lobby the Legislature for more economic development funding!

Now, three years later, the ESPC’s main conclusions have been corroborated by a performance audit conducted by the Legislature’s own Legislative Service Office. The audit highlighted the agency’s failure to develop a strategic economic development plan as required by its originating statute, and pointedly noted the lack of evidence supporting any benefit from the WBC’s different structure and personnel policies.

Wyoming’s Fiscal Policies – Taxing and Spending. For the third time in recent memory, an interim legislative committee is struggling with a unique problem – how to accurately value and tax “sour gas” produced in southwestern Wyoming. Although sour gas constitutes only about 13% of Wyoming’s total gas production, the severance and property taxes at stake amount to approximately $80 million a year, not counting many more millions still tied up in years of litigation over this issue.

The ESPC has led the effort to improve legislators’ understanding of mineral taxation in general and taxation of sour gas in particular, assisted by the county assessors’ and treasurers’ organizations. The ESPC staff is monitoring the interim work and will be prepared to tackle the issue during the 2006 session if a bad bill comes out of committee.

With coal prices more than double what they’ve been for years, the ESPC also is calling attention to the need to restore the coal severance tax to historical levels: 10.5% instead of the current 7%. The coal industry clearly has demonstrated its ability to compete successfully at the higher rate, and once a ton of coal leaves the state, it never will return. Wyoming may not need more money now, but revenues from a restored coal severance tax could be deposited in the Wyoming Permanent Mineral Trust Fund for future generations.

And, oddly enough, given high coal prices and consequently higher severance tax revenues – another interim legislative committee is considering a bill to encourage coal enhancement (gasification or liquefaction) by granting severance tax credits on the coal consumed. One might well question why any incentive is necessary when the energy industry is racking up record profits and Wyoming sits on more coal than can be imagined, or how lost revenues will be replaced (even high-paying jobs do not translate into state revenues when there is no income tax). The ESPC will continue to oppose tax “incentives” that are not tied to demonstrable economic performance.

Improving Economic Conditions and Access to Health Care. As noted above, the ESPC is working to gain recognition of the Wyoming Economic Self-Sufficiency Report and the need to boost wages to levels that can cover basic necessities. The ESPC also is actively researching proposals and model programs to extend health care coverage to more Wyoming residents, learning from the experiences of other small-population states that are moving toward universal coverage.

Citizen involvement. The ESPC again will conduct its annual Citizen Lobbyist Training in Cheyenne at the beginning of the Legislature’s budget session, and will be holding two new “lobbying from home” sessions in Casper and Sheridan.

The ESPC will continue supplying a daily legislative report and compiling The Wyoming LAP Book* (Legislative Accountability Project) right here on our website at our website, providing descriptions of key bills and votes as the Legislature moves through the session. Plans are underway for a more sophisticated information and alert service. If you would like to be kept informed of key legislative and policy developments, drop us a note and we'll include you on the mailing list.

Wyoming’s boom in state revenues provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advocate for – and invest in – ideas that will make Wyoming a great place to live for years to come. But it’s going to take some committed work to make that happen. The ESPC continues to attract attention with its precedent-setting coalition relationships and ability to promote progressive issues in a conservative political climate, but right now a lot of funding in the nonprofit world is being drawn to larger-population states. The ESPC needs your activism and financial support to keep going.
Please make a contribution today – thank you! 
Sincerely,

Sarah Gorin, Board Chair                                                 Dan Neal, Executive Director

P.S. Unlike most organizations, we appeal for funds only once a year with this letter and a follow-up postcard, so please don’t forget to respond now! (It you itemize, remember that charitable contributions made between now and Dec. 31 are deductible up to 100% of your income, instead of 50%.) Again, thank you!

• Make an online, credit card contribution through the "Network for Good" to support the work of the ESPC. 100% of your contribution goes to the ESPC.

• Send an email message to the ESPC stating your interest in becoming a one of the "Friends of the ESPC" by making a financial contribution and we will bill you. 
• Print this page, fill in your name and mailing address, enclose your contribution, and mail to the ESPC at 340 West B Street Suite 203, Casper WY 82601; or fax this page to 307-472-5939 and we'll bill you. 
• Call the ESPC at 307-472-5939 and we'll bill you.

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The ESPC is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and contributions are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

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Equality State Policy Center or ESPC
340 West B Street Suite 203
Casper, Wyoming 82601