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When I first reported about the passage of state Sen. Leland Christensen’s hitchhiking bill and subsequent signing by the governor, readers inquired whether the law would apply to federal lands and interstate highways.

Sen. Christensen said the change, which removed a prohibition on soliciting rides, definitely applies to interstates. He also said based on a conversation with Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk, he reasoned that the park would follow Wyoming law on the matter.

I followed up with Grand Teton National Park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs, and she researched the Code of Federal Regulations.

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Posted under Crime, Environment, Politics, Sports, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: grand teton national park, hiking, leland christensen

A bill that would legalize hitchhiking in Wyoming has passed both chambers of the state Legislature and awaits Gov. Matt Mead’s signature to become law.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Leland Christensen, R-Alta, passed final reading in the House today by a 52-6 vote. Earlier the Senate voted 29-1 to approve it.

“It is never over till the ink is dry,” Christensen wrote in an email. “I have my fingers crossed.”

The bill would remove language from state law prohibiting people from being on a highway for the purpose of soliciting a ride. If signed by the governor, the law would take effect July 1.

Reached at his home in Teton Village, Capt. Bob Morris, a longtime advocate of ride sharing, hailed the bill’s passage. “Hurray, that’s terrific news,” Morris said. “It should have happened decades ago.”

Morris said he did not plan to attend a prospective bill signing, even if he could hitch to Cheyenne.

Also expected to rejoice, if the governor approves the legislation: backcountry skiers on Teton Pass, rafters in the Snake canyon, and the mountain man Gator.

Posted under Crime, Politics, Wyoming, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: capt. bob, leland christensen, matt mead

In a move that will warm the hearts of Capt. Bob Morris and backcountry skiers, a state legislator from Teton County is working on a bill to legalize hitchhiking in Wyoming.

Sen. Leland Christensen, R-Alta, will seek to remove from the law a prohibition on soliciting rides, according to the News&Guide. The paper reported:

” ‘It’s a law on the books that doesn’t make sense, especially in these economic times,’ said Christensen, who remembers when his father used to hitch rides home when the family would visit his grandparents.”

Christensen’s view is reinforced by a recent New York Times op-ed, titled “Hitchhiking’s Time Has Come Again,” which argues that the dangers of soliciting rides have been overblown and even fabricated to dissuade people from the once-widespread practice.

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Posted under Crime, Environment, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: capt. bob, leland christensen, skids, teton pass

Fresh off his drubbing by Rick Santorum in Tuesday’s caucuses, vulture capitalist and Thurston Howell impersonator Mitt Romney has assembled a Wyoming “leadership team” as he looks ahead to the next round of GOP primaries.

Among those on the team are Rep. Ruth Ann Petroff, R-Jackson, and Sens. Leland Christensen, R-Alta, and Dan Dockstader, R-Afton.

Our state legislators no doubt will help Romney corral Wyoming’s 29 delegates (a handful compared to the 1,144 needed for nomination), but given that Teton County is a hotbed for political giving, they also ought to help Romney wrangle what he loves most: MONEY.

This might put them at odds with many of their constituents, considering Barack Obama won 61 percent of the vote in Teton County in 2008, compared to 37 percent for John McCain. In Petroff’s District 16, Obama carried 63 percent.

Heading Romney’s Wyoming team is U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who has inherited the flair for vituperative hyperbole of her predecessor, Barbara Cubin. Here’s what Lummis had to say about Mitt:

“Wyoming has faced first-hand the consequences of President Obama’s big-government over-regulation that has hindered our state’s economic development. Mitt Romney knows that the best thing Washington can do is to get out of the way of job creators. President Obama’s approach to government has been to balloon government and put us on a path toward Greece.”

Greece! Break out the ouzo and smash a plate, we’re headed for sun and olives.

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Posted under Economy, Politics, Republican Party

Tags: barack obama, foster friess, keith gingery, leland christensen, mitt romney, ruth ann petroff

Last week, as the Wyoming Senate debated the second of two bills that would restrict the rights of gay citizens, constituents flooded Sen. Leland Christensen’s Facebook page with pleas for him to vote against the measure. The Alta Republican voted to advance the bill on first and second readings, but once amendments were finalized, Christensen voted against the legislation on final reading.

Today, he helped defeat a bill that would have set aside $500,000 for the state to fight implementation of federal health insurance reform. Earlier, he voted against a proposed constitutional amendment bucking federal mandates related to health care.

Deservedly, Christensen has received commendation from Teton County Democrats for doing the right thing on House Bill 74, which seeks to bar Wyoming from recognizing gay marriages or civil unions performed in other states. The bill passed the Senate by one vote, on a 16-14 margin, but the House did not concur with the Senate’s changes, casting its future in doubt.

“I didn’t think it created a space for respect,” Christensen said by phone from Cheyenne. He objected that civil unions were included.

Fair enough. So far, the senator’s record isn’t perfect — he had a chance to kill the first gay marriage bill, a constitutional amendment, in committee, yet chose to advance the bill to the floor — but he seems to be listening to his constituents back home and taking a pragmatic approach to divisive issues for which he has a distaste. That’s encouraging.

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Posted under Politics, Religion, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: leland christensen, sex