Bills to protect vulnerable adults, redefine prostitution, hemp limits advance in Senate

Feb. 19—CHEYENNE — An unlikely trio of bills discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday addressed the not-so-fabulous parts of Wyoming law, but necessary in the eyes of Legislature to keep the streets clean and residents safe.

Lawmakers forwarded bills to the floor that address civil lawsuits for vulnerable adults, limitations on hemp products and targeting massage parlors that violate prostitution laws.

Vulnerable adult exploitation

Senate File 45, "Vulnerable adults-civil cause of action-2," is sponsored and introduced by Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne. The purpose of the bill is to give vulnerable adults standing in bringing a civil cause of action against anyone who exploits them — often other family members who try to take advantage of them, Nethercott said.

A vulnerable adult is either an elderly person or a person who is disabled. The senator added that law enforcement "isn't particularly interested" in pursuing cases of exploitation.

The bill was generally supported by committee members and those who testified Monday morning. The only proposed amendment was brought up by Tom Lacock, a spokesperson for AARP Wyoming, in addressing whether there should be restrictions on who is allowed to represent a vulnerable adult in a civil lawsuit.

According to how the bill is currently written, a nursing home could be given power of attorney on short notice, and Lacock said that brought up concerns over that person's capability to represent on short notice.

Nethercott, who is also a practicing attorney, said she and other lawmakers agreed the definition under who qualifies to receive power of attorney is broad, but added this didn't pose a great issue.

"A person who's been asked to accept a vulnerable adult then can sue someone who's exploited that vulnerable adult. Does it matter the frequency and time they've been asked to be an agent for a vulnerable adult?" Nethercott said. "I hardly think so."

Nethercott said she understood the concern behind a vulnerable adult asking a person to represent them in their vulnerable state. However, that person would not receive the remedy money should the case be won in court, plus they would hold a fiduciary responsibility to care for that individual's financial assets.

Wyoming Department of Family Services Director Korin Schmidt said this bill is a necessary tool to protect vulnerable adults from exploitation. In the scenario of a nursing home taking on the power of attorney for an adult, she said this could somewhat work to that adult's advantage.

"What we know is that a lot of the financial exploitation is done by family members," said Schmidt, who also worked on the bill as a member of the Vulnerable Adults Task Force. "(Nursing) facilities get to know the families very well, and they do see times where there is a child that is exploiting, and are pretty limited on anything that they can do to help."

The bill was advanced to the Senate floor on a vote of 5-0.

Illicit massage parlors

Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, introduced SF 76, "Prostitution amendments," which amends Wyoming's current statute outlawing acts of prostitution in the Cowboy State. This bill covers a "loophole" in current law that was said to have been taken advantage of by "illicit massage parlors" across Wyoming.

SF 76 includes sexual contact, or physical contact meant to activate arousal, under the definition of prostitution.

"I can tell you that it is a serious issue in some parts of our state, particularly in Sweetwater County," Ellis said. "This act is often a gateway for other more serious acts of prostitution and even human trafficking."

An obstacle law enforcement runs into is shutting down illicit massage parlors. Lt. Michelle Hall from the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office speculated there are just under 20 illicit massage parlors in the state. This industry is rapidly growing in the state, and also across the country, she said.

Hall said she couldn't shut down one such facility in Rock Springs because nowhere in Wyoming statute does it say stimulating contact is considered an act of prostitution. This creates an obstacle for law enforcement, because they can only enforce what's in statute.

Division of Victim Services Director Cara Chambers said the bill is a "big step" in shutting down illicit massage parlors, which are also a gateway to human trafficking. Chambers added there is a provision in the bill that protects victims of human trafficking in these parlors from being criminalized by law enforcement.

"The string of criminality that follows human trafficking is vast and has an impact on communities," Chambers said. "There is a lot of law enforcement support behind this."

The bill was also advanced on a unanimous vote to the floor, absent of Chairman Sen. Bill Landen, who was testifying for a bill in another committee.

Limitations on hemp

SF 32, "Hemp-limitations on psychoactive substances," grabbed headlines across the state when it was first introduced as a draft bill during the interim session. CBD and hemp business owners stressed that the draft's original language threatened to shut down their businesses. Hours of public testimony throughout the interim drilled down to banning products with traces of THC that amount to over 0.3% on a dry-weight basis.

The struggle lawmakers had with the bill's language was finding a way to outlaw synthetic substances added to hemp products, some of which occur naturally. The bill was brought out of concern of minors ingesting such substances in hemp products, with a growing number of cases of teenagers being hospitalized from consuming these products.

Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, asked state officials who testified whether including an age restriction on the bill would help reach their goal of keeping these products out of the hands of minors.

Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson said she found it "mind-boggling" that youth are able to purchase these products. However, Assistant Attorney General Kellsie Singleton with the Wyoming Attorney General's Office said she believed this was already covered under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, cautioned against putting repetitive amendments in statute, like another age restriction, since it can create confusion. Richard Jones from Wyoming Citizens Against Normalization said he didn't have an issue with the bill, but noted it only penalized producers of hemp products, not those who possess the product or transport it.

"To me, this bill does not address the problem," Jones said. "There is nothing in this bill that handles that problem. The only thing it targets are our poor producers."

Sens. Case and Schuler showed hesitancy over the bill's effectiveness, and were the only two on the five-member committee to vote no on the bill. All three bills will be further debated on the Senate floor later this week.

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.