LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES AND THE PRACTICE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION IN WYOMING Debora A. Person* Constitutionally the power to make laws is vested in the legislature, performed through the process of legislation, resulting in statutes that govern the jurisdiction. Because of the broad scope of statutes, courts are called upon to interpret them in the individual cases that come before them. Among the tools to do this are the documents produced during legislation, making up the legislative history of the enacted laws. Bill drafting and the legislative process, therefore, have significance beyond the final text of the statute. This is a simplistic statement of an accepted principle of the interrelated functions of our branches of government. But how are Wyoming courts interpreting statutes? What specific resources do they use for legislative review and what do they reject? And is the Wyoming legislature constructing statutes according to known standardized rules, thereby justifying a search of historical documents to weigh the meaning of the enacted laws? To begin to answer these questions, a review of the documents produced during the process, and how to locate those that are available, is important. Wyoming’s legislature is made up of elected citizens who meet for a constitutionally-defined period of time to perform their legislative duties. The members of the Wyoming legislature are provided neither offices nor individual staff, and formal training in statutory construction is generally not available to the elected assembly. Drafting of statutes and support of the legislature is carried out by the Wyoming Legislative Service Office (LSO). WYOMING LAW REVIEW VOLUME 10 2010 NUMBER 2 * Associate Law Librarian, George William Hopper Law Library, University of Wyoming College of Law. Mrs. Person received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Arizona State University in 1981, and her M.L.I.S. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 1991. A member of the law library faculty since 1999, she is the Head of Reference, Public Services, and Technical Services. She is an active member of American Association of Law Libraries and recently served as President of WestPac, the regional chapter of A.A.L.L.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES AND THE PRACTICE OF STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
IN WYOMING
Debora A. Person*
Constitutionallythepowertomakelawsisvestedinthelegislature,performedthroughtheprocessoflegislation,resultinginstatutesthatgovernthejurisdiction.Becauseofthebroadscopeofstatutes,courtsarecalledupontointerpretthemintheindividualcasesthatcomebeforethem.Amongthetoolstodothisarethedocumentsproducedduringlegislation,makingupthelegislativehistoryoftheenactedlaws.Billdraftingandthelegislativeprocess,therefore,havesignificancebeyondthefinaltextofthestatute.Thisisasimplisticstatementofanacceptedprincipleoftheinterrelatedfunctionsofourbranchesofgovernment.ButhowareWyoming courts interpreting statutes?What specific resourcesdo theyusefor legislative reviewandwhatdo they reject?And is theWyoming legislatureconstructingstatutesaccordingtoknownstandardizedrules,therebyjustifyingasearchofhistoricaldocumentstoweighthemeaningoftheenactedlaws?
Tobegintoanswerthesequestions,areviewofthedocumentsproducedduringtheprocess,andhowtolocatethosethatareavailable,isimportant.Wyoming’slegislatureismadeupofelectedcitizenswhomeetforaconstitutionally-definedperiodoftimetoperformtheirlegislativeduties.ThemembersoftheWyominglegislatureareprovidedneitherofficesnorindividualstaff,andformaltraininginstatutoryconstructionisgenerallynotavailabletotheelectedassembly.DraftingofstatutesandsupportofthelegislatureiscarriedoutbytheWyomingLegislativeServiceOffice(LSO).
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* AssociateLawLibrarian,GeorgeWilliamHopperLawLibrary,UniversityofWyomingCollegeofLaw.Mrs.PersonreceivedherB.A.,summacumlaude,fromArizonaStateUniversityin1981,andherM.L.I.S.fromRutgers,TheStateUniversityofNewJerseyin1991.Amemberofthelawlibraryfacultysince1999,sheistheHeadofReference,PublicServices,andTechnicalServices.SheisanactivememberofAmericanAssociationofLawLibrariesandrecentlyservedasPresidentofWestPac,theregionalchapterofA.A.L.L.
I. WyomIng LegIsLatIve Process
The Wyoming legislature is bicameral, meeting the second Tuesday ofJanuaryeachyearfornomorethanfortydays.1Oddyearsaregeneralsessionsandevenyearsarebudgetsessions.Therearetwelve“permanent”or“standing”committeesinboththeHouseandtheSenate,whichparalleleachother.Whenthe legislature isnot insession,thesecommitteescombinetofunctionas jointinterimcommittees,addressingmajorissuesfacingthestate.
Bill Drafting Files
SponsorsandcommitteesmayrequestadraftofabillfromtheLSO.2Uponinitiatingtheprocess,adraftingfileisopenedthatmaycontaintherequestforthebill,itsvariousdrafts,modellegislationusedbythedrafter,andresearchmaterial.3Onceapprovedbythesponsor,abillnumberisassignedandthebillisprefiled.4
Committee Reports and Materials
Oftentheworkoftheinterimcommitteesresultsintheintroductionofbills.Inthiscase, furtherrecordsmaybeavailable inthedraftingfile.TheLSOhascommitteerecordsbackto1971,includingmeetingminutes,materialssubmittedfor and against the proposed legislation, memoranda, correspondence, andstaffreports.
1 ThefollowingdiscussionofthelegislativeprocessisbasedprimarilyoninformationfromtheLSOwebsiteathttp://legisweb.state.wy.us/leginfo/hiswylaw.htm(lastvisitedMay5,2010).
2 Sponsorscanbeaninformalsourceofinformationonbillsandtheiroriginalintent,buttheWyomingSupremeCourtfoundthat“[a]ffidavitsbylegislatorsorotherpersonsinvolvedintheenactmentofastatutearenotapropersourceoflegislativehistory.”Indep.ProducersMktg.Corp.v.Cobb,721P.2d1106,1108(Wyo.1986).
3 TheLSOmaintainsbilldraftingfiles forallbills since1977.Theseareavailable to thepublicwiththeapprovaloftheLSODirector.Note,however, thataccordingtotheLegIsLatIve Handbookch.4,§4(a),“theLSOtreatsbilldraftingrequestsasconfidentialandthecontentsofproposedlegislationwillnotbedivulgedtoanyonewithoutthespecificconsentofthesponsororuntilasponsorapprovalformforthebillissignedandreturned.”LegIsLatIve serv. offIce, mgmt. councIL, LegIsLatIve Handbook4.2(May2007),available at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/leginfo/policies/lhbook/l-hbook07.pdf.
4 TheWyoming Supreme Court Law Library has all prefiled bills. LSO has copies from1971 to the present, and all versions of bills since 2001 are available on the LSO’s web site athttp://legisweb.state.wy.us.TheoriginalbillandallamendmentsareretainedinabilljacketbytheSecretaryofStateforfiveyearsandthensenttotheStateArchives.TheGeorgeWilliamHopperLawLibraryattheUniversityofWyomingCollegeofLawalsocollectsandbindsversionsofthebillsandretainsahistoriccollection.Copiesofbillsaresentouttoeverycountyclerkandcountylibraryinthestate.
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Abillisintroducedintothelegislatureatitsfirstreadingandassignedtoastandingcommittee.5Thecommitteemayholdpublichearingsorrequestfurtherinformationonthebill. It thenreports its recommendationbackto thehouseinwhichthebillwasintroduced.Specificsofstandingcommitteeactiononbillsduringalegislativesessionarenotpubliclyavailable.6
Floor Debates
Billsarereportedbacktothehouseinwhichtheyoriginated.Atthisreadingmembersmaydebateandmakeamendments.Afinalvoteon thebill is takenfollowingthethirdreading.7
5 “First reading takesplacewhen thebill is introduced . . . . Second reading takesplaceafterthebillhasbeenfavorablyacteduponbytheCommitteeoftheWhole.Thirdreadingusuallytakes place on the legislative day following second reading.” LegIsLatIve serv. offIce, mgmt. councIL, WyomIng manuaL of LegIsLatIve Procedures pt.1,§5,at2(2008),available at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/leginfo/policies/manlepro.pdf. Bills not reported back to the house die incommittee.Sometimesthesedeadbillscanbehelpfultocompareagainstenrolledactstodeterminelegislativeintent.
6 Thereportofthecommitteeisenteredintoacomputer-generatedform.Recommendationsare limited to Do Pass, Do Not Pass, Do Pass with Amendments, and Return WithoutRecommendation.Anyamendmentsareattached.AccordingtoHouseandSenaterules:
[N]owrittendocumentinthepossessionofastandingcommitteeandnominutesor other record purporting to reflect an action or recommendation of a standingcommitteeshallbedeemedtobeanofficialrecordoftheWyomingLegislature....[A]llotherdocumentsandrecordsdevelopedby,presentedto,orinthepossessionof, a standing committee during a Legislative session are deemed to be unofficialtemporaryworkingpapersofthestandingcommitteeandshallnotbepreservedasanofficialrecordoftheWyomingLegislaturefollowingadjournmentofthesession.
JoInt ruLes of tHe House and senate§16,available at http://legisweb.state.wy.us/99sessin/rules/jrules99.htm#Standing.Exceptionsarelistedat§16-1(a).
Occasionallyabillwillbechangedconsiderably:
A Standing Committee may so heavily amend a bill that a “substitute bill”incorporatingall theCommittee’sproposedamendments ispreparedaspartoftheStandingCommitteeReport.Beginninginthe1999Sessionthesubstitutebillwillcontinuetocarrytheoriginalbillnumber,however,thisversionofthebillwillhavethedesignation“SubstituteNo.___”intheupperright-handcornerofthefirstpage.
WyomIng manuaL of LegIsLatIve Procedures,supra note5,pt.1,§7,at2.
7 Therearenotranscriptsoffloordebates;however,audiotapesareavailablefortheSenatesince1996andfortheHousesince1997andaretransferredtotheSecretaryofStateandtheStateLibraryforretentionaspublicrecords.Audiorecordingsofdebatessince2006arealsoavailableunderSessionInformationArchivesontheLSO’swebsite.LegislativeSession,http://legisweb.state.wy.us/sessions/legsess.htm(last visitedMay23,2010).Tapes arefiledbydate. Id.Todeterminewhichtapeisneeded,searchtheJournal of theHouse or Journal of the Senate forthedateofdiscussiononabill.AudiorecordingsofanysortdonotsupersedetheJournalastheofficialrecordoflegislativeactionaccordingtotherulesoftheHouseandSenate.ruLes of tHe senate§19-2(c),available athttp://legisweb.state.wy.us/2009/rules/senate.htm(lastvisitedMay23,2010);ruLes of tHe House of rePresentatIves§25-4(b),available athttp://legisweb.state.wy.us/2009/rules/house.htm(lastvisitedMay23,2010).
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Tobecome lawbothhousesof the legislaturemustpass abill in identicalform.Whenpassedbythefirsthouse,anyamendmentsaremadebyLSOandthebillbecomesanengrossedact.Theengrossedactisthensenttothesecondhousewhereitundergoesasimilarprocess.Ifthebillpassesthesecondhousewithoutamendment,itisthensenttotheGovernor.
Ifthebillisamendedbythesecondhouse,itisreturnedtothefirsthousefor approval of the new version. If the first house votes to pass the amendedbill,itisenrolledandsenttotheGovernor.Ifthefirsthousedoesnotpasstheamendedbill,itisassignedtoajointconferencecommittee(JCC)toworkoutthedifferences.8WhenbothhousesapprovetheversionofthebillreportedoutoftheJCC,itisenactedandsenttotheGovernor.
House and Senate Journals
TheofficialrecordoflegislativeactionisrecordedintheJournal of the House of Representatives and Journal of the Senate,thoughtheserecordsarenotaverbatimrecordoftheproceedings.The journalscontainbriefdescriptionsofthelegislativeactions,billsponsors’names,namesofcommitteesthatconsideredthebill,datesofallactionstaken,textofalladoptedandfailedamendments,allroll-callvotes,legislators’statementsregardingtheintentorexplanationofthebill,conferencecommitteeactions,andactionsoftheGovernorregardingthebill.9TheofficialjournalsareretainedbytheSecretaryofStateandcopiesaremailedtolibrariesinthestate.Someofthisinformation,versionsofabill,forinstance,canbelocatedontheLSOwebsiteathttp://legisweb.state.wy.us,under“SessionInformation.”
Enrolled Acts
TheenrolledactispresentedtotheGovernor.IftheGovernorsignsthebill,itbecomes law. Ifhevetoes thebill, it returns to thehouseoforiginwithhisobjections.ThelegislaturemayoverridetheGovernor’svetobyavoteoftwo-thirdsoftheelectedmembersineachhouse.10AnybillleftunsignedbytheGovernorfor
8 Conference committee recommendations of joint conference committees (JCC) arepublishedintheSenateandHouseJournals.
9 From1957until1975,theSenateandHouseJournalswerecombinedtoformtheDigest of the House and Senate,whichincludedbudgetandspecialsessionsofthelegislature.ItservedasanindextotheJournalsonfilewiththeSecretaryofState,replacingthechronologicalrecordofthelegislativesessionwithanarrangementbybillnumber,coveringeachbillintroduced.Billswerearrangedinnumericalsequenceandallactionsaffectingeachwereshowninbrief,bydate.From1975to1993,theDigestsoftheSenateandHousewereseparatedoutintotwopublications.In1993,theywererenamedJournal of the SenateandJournal of the House,thoughtheymaintainthesequentialbillnumberarrangement.
10 Governors’ statements made at the time of signing or vetoing a bill can be useful forlegislativeresearch.ThesestatementsarekeptwiththebillsandareavailablefromLSOandtheSecretaryofState’sOffice.See supra note4.
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threedaysorunsignedattheadjournmentofthelegislaturebecomeslawwithouthis signatureunless theGovernorfilesanobjectionwiththeSecretaryofStatewithinfifteendaysafterthelegislatureadjourns.
Session Laws of Wyoming
At the end of each legislative session, the enacted laws are published intheSession Lawsof Wyoming in theorder inwhich theyarepassed, that is,bytheirchapternumber.Thispublicationcanbeausefullegislativehistorytoolinthatthetextisstillinamarked-upversion,withstrikethroughsandunderlinesreflectingchanges.Therearealsononcodifiedsectionsthatarepartofthelawbutarenot included in the annotated statutes such as time limits, appropriations,anddirectionsnecessary to carryout the law.TheSession Laws are theofficialrecordofthelaws,controllingovertheWyomingstatutesincasesofconflict.11Interestingly,though,theWyomingSupremeCourtfoundinState ex rel. City of Cheyenne v. Swanthatthejournalsmayalsobereliedupontovoidaprovisioniftheenrolledactdoesnotaccuratelyreflectthatpassedbybothhouses.12
Wyoming Statutes Annotated 13
Session laws, with the exception of noncodified portions listed above, arecodifiedintoWyoming Statutes Annotated,atopicalarrangementofthecurrentlawsofthestateannotatedwithinterpretivecaselawandlegislativeinformationattheendofeachstatutorysection.14Thelegislativereferencesprovideinformation
11 Legislative History of Wyoming Laws, http://legisweb.state.wy.us/leginfo/hiswylaw.htm(lastvisitedMay19,2010).
12 TheWyoming Supreme Court stated, “[W]e have the authority, and it is our duty, toexaminethe journals, todeterminewhetherornottheact inquestionwaspassedbyamajorityof themembers elected to eachhouse.”State ex rel.CityofCheyennev.Swan,51P.209,214(Wyo.1897).
13 ThecurrentWyoming Statutes Annotatedwerecompiledin1977thoughthesetisrepub-lished biennially with each general legislative session. Earlier compilations ofWyoming statutesinclude:Wyoming Statutes Annotated,1957;Wyoming Compiled Statutes,1946–47;Wyoming Revised Statutes,1931;Wyoming Compiled Statutes Annotated,1920;Wyoming Compiled Statutes Annotated,1910;Revised Statutes of Wyoming,1899;Revised Statutes of the State of Wyoming,1887;andCompiled Laws of Wyoming, 1876.
14 Todothis,sessionlawsmaybesplituptofitthemintothetopicalschemaofthestatutes.Accordingtosection8-1-105oftheWyomingStatutes,“Statutenumbersandheadnotesareforreference,identification,andtofacilitatepreparationofcopyforprintingonly,anddonotconstituteanypartofthesubstantivelawoftheenactment.Thelegislativeserviceofficemaychangestatutesectionnumbersorheadnotesbeforeor afterpassageof the act asnecessary.”Wyo. stat. ann.§8-1-105(2009).Priortothisstatute’senactmentin1971,theorganizationalaspectsofthesessionlaws’usetodetermine legislative intentwere inconsistent.InFrance v. Connor,27P.569(Wyo.1891)thecourtfoundthatthedivisionwasarbitraryandnotpartofthelegislation.InHoffmeister v. McIntosh,361P.2d678(Wyo.1961),however,thecourtdecidedthenonsubstantiveorganizationalelementswerepurposefulonthepartofthelegislatureandthereforeindicativeofitsintent.
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totracethestatutebackthroughitslegislativeprocessforthesakeofcompilinganadequatelegislativehistory.
Wyoming Constitution
TheWyoming Constitution is also heavily interpreted by the courts.ThecurrentConstitutionanditsinterpretivecaselawarepublishedintheWyoming Statutes Annotated.Amendmentstotheconstitutionareproposedbythelegislature.Ifagreedtobytwo-thirdsofallmembersineachhouse,thevoteisenteredintotheHouseandSenatejournalsandsubmittedtotheGovernorforapproval.Theamendment must be published for twelve weeks in at least one newspaper ofgeneralcirculationandputontheballotinthenextgeneralelection.15AproposedamendmentiseffectiveonthedateitisproclaimedadoptedbytheGovernor.16
The activities of the Wyoming Constitutional Convention, held in 1889,aredocumented in the Journal and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of Wyoming and serve as a source of legislative history for constitutional issues.ThejournalsoftheHouseandSenateandWyomingnewspaperarticlesprovideinformationonamendments.TheWyomingSupremeCourthasstatedthatuseoftheJournal and Debatesisanacceptableapproachtointerpretingtheconstitution:“Therecordofthedebatesduringtheconstitutionalconventionshedssomelightontheconcernsofthedelegates....Theserecords‘mayveryproperlyberesortedtoasindicatingsomewhattheintentandobjectwhichcausedtheincorporationofthedisputedclausesintothefundamentallaw.’”17
Initiatives and Referenda
Initiativesandreferendaareconstitutionalprivilegesgivinglegislativepowertothepeople.18Thegeneralpopulationmayenactlawsthroughinitiativesandapproveorrejectactsofthe legislaturethroughreferenda.TheseactsandtheiramendmentsaregenerallydraftedorreviewedbytheLSO.Onceapproved,theyaredistributedforsignatures.Thosegarneringenoughsignaturesareplacedontheballotinthenextgeneralelection.Ifpassed,theyarecodifiedintheWyoming Statutes Annotatedandthelegislativenotesindicatetheirsource.19
15 Wyo. const.art.XX,§1;see alsoRobertB.Keiter,An Essay on Wyoming Constitutional Interpretation,21Land & Water L. rev.527(1986).
16 Wyo. stat. ann.§22-20-108(2009).
17 Dir.ofOfficeofStateLands&Invs.v.Merbanco,70P.3d241,254(Wyo.2003).
18 Wyo. const.art.III,§52(a).
19 For more information on initiatives and referenda in Wyoming, see Debora Person &TawnyaPlumb,Initiatives and Referenda in Wyoming,26LegaL reference servIces Q.321(2007).
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Attorney General Opinions
In some cases the Wyoming Attorney General is called upon to issue anopinion regarding the interpretation of a specific statute. This review oftenincludeslegislativehistories.20
Other Sources of Wyoming Legislative Histories
LawreviewarticlesandbarjournalsaresomeofthebestsourcesofWyoming-specificlegislativehistoriesofimportantorcontroversialstatutes.TheWyoming Law Review, formerly Land & Water Law Review or Wyoming Law Journal, ispublished by the University of Wyoming College of Law. It is a good sourcefor these articles, as is the Wyoming Lawyer, published by theWyoming StateBarAssociation.
II. HIstory of court usage of state LegIsLatIve HIstorIes
Courts will generally look to common practices and protocols known ascanonsofjudicialinterpretationwhendeterminingtheintentofthelegislature.Evenwhenthetrailofthelegislativeprocessisaccessible,statutoryinterpretationremainscontroversial. It isbynomeanssettledwhethercourtsshould, infact,seek to interpret or infer beyond the wording of the statute, or whether thecanonsareappropriate tools todoso.21JudgeRichardPosnerexpressesdoubtsthatcongressionallegislativedraftersareawareoftheexistenceoftheserulesortakepainstofollowthemiftheydo.Hearguesthatthecanonsarenotusefulandcontends that, “[w]e should demand evidence that statutory draftsmen followthe code before we erect a method of interpreting statutes on the improbableassumptionthattheydo.”22
Inspiteofnocleardraftingstandards,theWyomingSupremeCourtregularlypursues intent throughout the legislative process. Over twenty percent of alldecisionsfromthecourtsince2000dealinsomemannerwithanassessmentofthe
20 WyomingAttorneyGeneralOpinionsareavailableattheWyomingStateLibraryandtheGeorgeWilliam Hopper Law Library at the University ofWyoming College of Law. Opinionsissuedsince1998arealsoavailableattheAttorneyGeneral’swebsite,http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us/98forma2.htm(lastvisitedMay5,2010).
21 norman J. sInger & J.d. sHambIe sInger, sutHerLand statutes and statutory constructIon§48A:8(7thed.2007).Singerprovidesatwo-sidedargumenttoidentifytheprosandconsofthegeneralprinciplesofstatutoryconstruction.
22 Richard Posner, Statutory Interpretation—In the Classroom and in the Courtroom, 50 u. cHI. L. rev.800,806(1983).
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intentofthelegislature.23Mainlythecourtreliesonprimarytextualinterpretationofthestatutesandtheconstitution.Todoso,ithasemployedanumberofstandardprinciples for its evaluation: grammar and syntax,24 ordinary meaning rules,25ejusdem generis,26 and noscitur a sociis 27 are documented throughout the state’sjudicialdecisions.Thereisalsoabundantcaselawsupportingthecourt’srelianceontheplainandordinarymeaningofthewordswithoutresortingtotherulesofstatutoryconstructionwherethestatuteissufficientlyclearandunambiguous.Itisacloselyheldtenetthatcourtsshouldavoidconstructiveinterpretationwherepossible:“Ifthelanguageemployedisplainandunambiguous,thereisnoroomleftforconstruction....Courtsarenotatlibertytodepartfromthatmeaningwhich is plainly declared.”28 “A statute is unambiguous if its wording is suchthatreasonablepersonsareabletoagreeastoitsmeaningwithconsistencyandpredictability.Astatuteisambiguousonlyifitisfoundtobevagueoruncertainandsubjecttovaryinginterpretations.”29Thecourthasalsosaid,
[W]hen the language is not clear or is ambiguous, the courtmust look to the mischief the statute was intended to cure,the historical setting surrounding its enactment, the publicpolicyofthestate,theconclusionsoflaw,andotherpriorandcontemporaneous facts and circumstances, making use of theaccepted rules of construction to ascertain a legislative intentthatisreasonableandconsistent.30
23 AninformalreviewofdecisionsoftheWyomingSupremeCourtoverthelastfiftyyearsreflects percentages varying from 15% to 30%. By decades the numbers even out somewhat:1960to1970,17%;1970to1980,15%;1980to1990,20%;1990to2000,19%;and2000to2009,22%.
24 “ThisCourtnaturallydoesnotreviewcongressionalenactmentsasapanelofgrammarians;butneitherdoweregardordinaryprinciplesofEnglishproseasirrelevanttoaconstructionofthoseenactments.”Dikev.State,990P.2d1012,1018(Wyo.1999).
25 Atthistimetherearenearly300casesaddressingordinarymeaning.Thoughthelanguagevaries, it is clearwhat theWyomingSupremeCourt intends.“Whena term isnotdefined inastatute,thiscourtwillfurnishanordinaryandobviousmeaning.”Harbelv.Wintermute,883P.2d359,365(Wyo.1994).“Whenawordhasawell-settledmeaninginlawatthetimeofitsusage,itsusebythelegislaturewillbesounderstoodunlessadifferentmeaningisunmistakablyintended.”Sorensonv.State,604P.2d1031,1038(Wyo.1979).
26 Thisprinciplerequiresthat“generalwords,[associatedwith]anenumerationofwordswithspecificmeanings,shouldbeconstruedtoapplytothesamegeneralkindorclassasthosespecificallylisted.”Sandersonv.State,165P.3d83,95(Wyo.2007).
27 “Thetraditionaldoctrineofnoscitur a sociis,that‘themeaningofdoubtfulwordsmaybedeterminedbyreferencetoassociatedwordsandphrases,’guidesusinourinquiry.”Kingv.Wyo.Div.ofCriminalInvestigation,89P.3d341,348(Wyo.2004).
28 ParkerLand&CattleCo.v.Wyo.Game&FishComm’n,845P.2d1040,1043(Wyo.1993)(quotingRasmussenv.Baker,50P.819,821(Wyo.1897)).
29 In re M.M.,202P.3d409,413(Wyo.2009).
30 CityofTorringtonv.Cottier,145P.3d1274,1277(Wyo.2006).
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The Wyoming Supreme Court uses the structure of statutory text togive context to the legislature’s intent. Statutes are construed as a whole withthe ordinary and obvious meaning applied to the words as they are arrangedin paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases.31Time frame is a factor in theconsiderationofstatutoryinterpretationaswell:“Thewordsofastatutemustbetakeninthesenseinwhichtheywereunderstoodatthetimewhenthestatutewasenacted.”32
In Parker Land & Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game & Fish Commission, theWyomingSupremeCourtsuccinctlylaidoutthehistoryofstatutoryinterpretationinourstate.
Throughout this court’s one hundred year history . . . thecourt has faithfully adhered to certain immutable principleswhich frame that method. . . . “[T]he initial step in arrivingatacorrectinterpretationisaninquiryrespectingtheordinaryandobviousmeaningofthewordsemployedaccordingtotheirarrangementandconnection.”Astatute“mustbeconstruedasawholeinordertoascertainitsintentandgeneralpurposeandalsothemeaningofeachpart.”...Thus,ourcourthasalwaysunderstood and appreciated that statutory interpretation is ajudicialprocessthatemphasizesthefunctionalrelationbetweenthepartsandthewhole....
....
...“Itisalwaysanunsafewayofconstruingastatute...todivideit,byaprocessofetymologicaldissection,intoseparatewords,andthenapplytoeach,thusseparatedfromitscontext,someparticulardefinition.”33
TheWyomingSupremeCourtadoptedprinciplesfoundinotherjurisdictionsspecifictocriminallaw.InCapwell v. State,forinstance,thecourtfoundthatina criminal statute, an ambiguity should be resolved in favor of lenity: “[T]heprincipleis...anoutgrowthofourreluctancetoincreaseormultiplypunishmentsabsentaclearanddefinitelegislativedirective.”34
31 Hayesv.CityofSheridan,105P.3d459,469(Wyo.2005).
32 FraternalOrderofEaglesSheridanAerieNo.186,Inc.v.Stateex rel.Forwood,126P.3d847,866(Wyo.2006).
33 Parker Land & Cattle Co., 845 P.2d at 1042 (quoting Rasmussen v. Baker, 50 P. 819,821(Wyo.1897)andRossv.TrusteesoftheUniv.ofWyo.,228P.642,651(Wyo.1924))(othercitationsomitted).
34 Capwellv.State,686P.2d1148,1153(Wyo.1984)(quotingSimpsonv.UnitedStates,435U.S.6(1978)).
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Wyoming’s lack of published legislative material has been a hindrance toresearchinglegislativehistoriesandsearchingoutlegislativeintent.Thefrustrationofthecourtisplainlyexpressed.Legislativehistory“isnearlytotallyunavailableforunderstanding the actions of theWyomingStateLegislature. ‘[B]ecauseofthesparselegislativehistorykeptinthisstate,peeringintothepast,eventheveryrecentpast,becomesasdifficultaspredictingthefuture.’”35
AsearchofWyomingstatutestorefuteorverifyJudgePosner’scontentionthatlegislaturesmayneitherknownorcareaboutthecourt’sprinciplesofinterpretationisinconclusive.Clearly,though,theWyomingstatuteonstatutoryconstructionisbrief andoffersneitherextensivedirection indraftingunambiguous statutesnorstatutoryinterpretation.36Further,theLSOdoesnot,inpractice,consistentlyutilize a professionally-accepted, prescribed set of standards when draftinglegislation. In the traditionofa small state, theprocess is informal, relyingontheextensiveexperienceofthestafftopreparedraftlegislation,thoughcertainlyresourcessuchasSutherland’sStatutes andStatutory Construction,Uniform Laws Annotated,andotherstates’statutesmaybeusedasregularreferencematerials.Additionally it appears thatamendmentsmadeon thefloorof theHouseandSenatearenotinformedbythesestandards.
Thereareoccasionswherethelegislaturehasexpresslystatedhowastatuteismeanttobeinterpreted,though.TheWyomingUniformSecuritiesAct(likemanyotherstate-adopteduniformlaws),statesthatitistobe“construedastoeffectuateitsgeneralpurposetomakeuniformthelawofthosestateswhichenactitandtocoordinatethe interpretationandadministrationofthisactwiththerelatedfederal regulation.”37Deference to federal statutes and regulations and to stateregulationsisnotuncommon.TheWyomingSupremeCourthasonanumberof occasions deferred to agency interpretations, unless such interpretations areclearlyerroneous.38
35 Parker Land & Cattle Co.,845P.2dat1044(citationsomitted)(quotingStatev.Stovall,648,P.2d543,546(Wyo.1982)).
36 Wyo. stat. ann. §8-1-103 (2009).The statute requires that “words andphrases shallbetakenintheirordinaryandusualsense,buttechnicalwordsandphraseshavingapeculiarandappropriatemeaninginlawshallbeunderstoodaccordingtotheirtechnicalimport.”Id.Thestatutealsobrieflyreferencesverbtense,plurals,andgenders.Id.
37 Wyo. stat. ann.§17-4-127(2009).
38 Parker Land & Cattle Co.,845P.2dat1045(referencingStateex rel.Wyo.Worker’sComp.Div.v.Mahoney,798P.2d836,838(Wyo.1990)(“someweight”);Wyo.MiningAss’nv.State,748P.2d718,722(Wyo.1988)(“greatdeference”);Stratmanv.AdmiralBeverageCorp.,760P.2d974,986(Wyo.1988)(“somedeference”)).
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Somestatutes,notablytheCodeofCivilProcedure,explicitlycallforliberalinterpretation.39TheWyomingSupremeCourthasqualifiedthisbystatingthat
[a]liberalinterpretationdoesnotpermit,orrequire,ustoforcewordsoutoftheirnaturalmeaning;itmeansonlythat“wordsshouldnotbeforcedoutoftheirnaturalmeaningandshouldreceive a fair and reasonable construction so as to obtain theobjectsforwhichastatuteisdesigned.”40
Converselysomestatutesspecificallystatethattheyaretobestrictlyconstrued:“Itisgenerallyheldthatstatutesauthorizingsuitagainstthestatearetobestrictlyconstrued,sincetheyare inderogationofthestate’s sovereignty. . . .Thus,werequireinthisparticularareaofthelawthatevidenceoflegislativeintentbebothunequivocalandtextual.”41
Neither statutory construction nor legislative history alone lend to theinterpretationofastatutebythecourts.Ininstanceswhereastatutemayhavemorethanoneinterpretation,theWyomingSupremeCourtappliesthestatutewithintheconfinesoftheconstitution:“[I]tisthedutyofthecourttosointerpretthelegislativeintentastoharmonizetheprovisionsoftheactwiththeconstitution,ifthiscanbedonereasonably.”42
Constitutional interpretation by the courts follows guidelines similar tostatutory review. “[I]n construing the state constitution, this Court followsthe samerules thatgovernconstructionofa statute . . . thatour fundamentalpurpose is to ascertain the intent of the framers. We first look to the plain
39 Wyo. stat. ann.§1-1-101(2009).“TheCodeofCivilProcedureandallproceedingsunderitshallbeliberallyconstruedtopromoteitsobjectandassistthepartiesinobtainingjustice.”Id.OtheractsthatthecourthasinthepastchosentoconstrueliberallyaretheWyomingPublicRecordsAct(WPRA)andWyomingWorker’sCompensationAct.Regardingpublicrecords, thecourt stated“disclosure,not secrecy, shouldprevail. Implementationof thatgoal isprovidedbyaffording a liberal interpretation to the WPRA and construing its exceptions narrowly.” Allsopv.CheyenneNewspapers, Inc.,39P.3d1092,1095 (Wyo.2002). In interpreting theWyomingWorker’sCompensationAct,thecourtrequires“reasonablyliberalinterpretationoftheWyomingWorker’sCompensationActinordertoaccomplishthelegislativegoals,amongwhichistheintentofthelegislaturethatindustry,andnottheinjuredemployee,shouldbeartheburdenofaccidentand injury occurring within the industrial setting.” State ex rel. Wyo. Worker’s Comp. Div. v.Girardot,807P.2d926,931(Wyo.1991).
40 Solesv.State,809P.2d772,774(Wyo.1991)(quotingThomsonv.Wyo.In-StreamFlowComm’n,651P.2d778,789(Wyo.1982)).
41 Parker Land & Cattle Co.,845P.2dat1044(citingHarrisonv.Wyo.LiquorComm’n,177P.2d397,399(Wyo.1947)).
42 Brownv.Clark,34P.2d17,22(Wyo.1934).
2010 statutory InterPretatIon In WyomIng 569
and unambiguous language to determine intent.”43 “Every statement in theconstitutionmustbeinterpretedinlightoftheentiredocument,withallportionsthereofread[in pari materia].”44And“[a]lthoughthelegislature’sinterpretationoftheconstitutionisnotbindingonthisCourt,wewouldbeloathtointerprettheconstitutionotherwise.”45
Whilecourtsmaylooktosourceswithintheirstatesforinterpretation,therearealsooutsidefactorstobeconsidered.Forexample,theborrowedstatuteruleallowsthatwhenastatuteisborrowed:
[I]t is not wrenched bodily out of its own setting, but takenalong with it are the court decisions of its own state whichinterpretandapplyit,andthecompanionstatuteswhichlimitandrestrictitsoperation....
Thus,inapplyinga“borrowed”statute,wemustconsidernotonlythe...statuteitself,butalsoanyapplicabletollingorotherstatutesaswellaspertinentcourtcases.46
concLusIon
TheresourcescreatedduringtheWyominglegislativeprocessandmadereadilyavailablearelimited,thoughelectronicaccesshasimprovedgeneraldistributionformore recent statutes.Thispaucityof legislativehistorymaterials, thoughadetrimenttoinvestigatingdeeplyintotheintentofthelegislature,hasforcedtheWyoming courts into a logical assessment of plain meaning and attentivenesstothewordsandstructureofstatutesastheyarewritten.Inlightofthelackofpublicationofthestate’sstandardsinthedraftingprocess,JudgePosner’spositiononmethodsofstatutoryinterpretationmaydeservefurtherreview.
43 Cathcartv.Meyer,88P.3d1050,1065 (Wyo.2004) (citationsomitted);accordDir.ofOfficeofStateLands&Invs.v.Merbanco,Inc.,70P.3d241,252(Wyo.2003).
44 Geringerv.Bebout,10P.3d514,520–21(Wyo.2000).
45 Id.at522.
46 Dukev.Housen, 589P.2d334,345(Wyo.1979)(quotingDevinev.Rook,314S.W.2d932,935(Mo.App.1958)).
570 WyomIng LaW revIeW Vol.10
aPPendIx
Bibliography of Legislative Bibliographic Resources
Lynn HeLLebust, state LegIsLatIve sourcebook: a resource guIde to LegIsLatIve InformatIon In tHe fIfty states(Gov’tResearchServ.2008).
frank Houdek & am. ass’n of LaW LIbrarIes, state PractIce materIaLs: annotated bIbLIograPHIes (Frank G. Houdek ed., William S. Hein & Co.,Inc.2002).
WILLIam H. manz, guIde to state LegIsLatIve and admInIstratIve materIaLs(WilliamS.Hein&Co.,Inc.2002).
JenniferBryanMorgan,IndianaUniversitySchoolofLawLibrary,Bloomington,StateLegislativeHistoryResearchGuidesontheWeb,http://www.law.indiana.edu/lawlibrary/research/guides/statelegislative/index.shtml.
debora Person & am. ass’n of LaW LIbrarIes, gov’t documents sPecIaL Interest sectIon, WyomIng state documents: a bIbLIograPHy of state PubLIcatIons and reLated materIaLs (Am.Ass’nofLawLibraries2006).
LegislativeServiceOffice,WyomingStateLegislature,http://legisweb.state.wy.us.
George William Hopper Law Library, University of Wyoming, CompilingWyoming Legislative Histories, http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/LawLib/guides/wyo_legis_hist.asp.
2010 statutory InterPretatIon In WyomIng 571
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