by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., WyoFile To support affordable housing, lawmakers next week are scheduled to examine a suite of tools including leasing of state lands for development, focusing infrastructure investments and using innovative financing arrangements. The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will study various strategies to increase the state’s housing supply […]
Legislature
Posted inLegislature
Four Wyoming lawmakers announce their departure, opening door to far right
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile With little more than a month to go before candidate filing periods officially open, battle lines are already taking shape in the competition for control of the Wyoming Legislature. Four lawmakers aligned with the traditional wing of Wyoming’s Republican Party — a group known for its fiscal conservatism, pro-business policies, small-government local-control ethos and […]
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Legislative panels spend months crafting bills. They’re failing more than ever.
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile Wyoming lawmakers don’t spend much time at the State Capitol. Instead, they perform much of their work during the off-season known as the interim, when they meet in committees to work through topics that require more time and resources than what is available during the session. Committee bills are the work product […]
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Special session looms as leadership reconsiders despite reservations
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile Update: After this story was published, legislative leadership announced Wednesday at approximately 12:40 p.m. that they “are calling for a vote of our members to see if they want to come into a special session, but we will be a no vote.” The vote is now ongoing. —Ed. A special session may be in […]
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Gordon signs bills prohibiting red flag gun laws, protecting firearms purchase privacy
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon signed four bills Friday that strengthen Wyoming residents’ Second Amendment rights. Gordon signed the following bills: SF0105 protects the privacy and sensitive financial information of people purchasing firearms, firearms parts or ammunition in Wyoming by prohibiting credit card processors from using firearms or firearm-related merchant category codes. It also […]
Posted inHealth
Wyoming’s 988 suicide lifeline financially secure, even without a fully funded trust, lawmakers say
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. By Madelyn Beck, WyoFile Funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis […]
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Gordon vetoes bill targeting proposed gravel mine west of Casper
CASPER, Wyo. — On Monday, Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed Senate File 44, which started about bonding issues related to permits for limited mining operations but evolved into something much different that posed constitutional problems about the management of state lands, according to a press release from the governor’s office. That evolution was a result of […]
Posted inPolitics
Wyoming will ban marijuana substitute delta-8; burgeoning industry’s future uncertain
by Madelyn Beck, WyoFile Uncertainty surrounds Wyoming’s ban on delta-8 — a marijuana-like substance also called “diet weed” — which Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law March 7. Senate File 32 – Hemp-limitations on psychoactive substances aims to ban delta-8 and similar products in Wyoming, though its full effect is still unclear. Some speculate the law could […]
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Gordon vetoes charter school, public education bill
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a bill addressing charter schools Thursday, saying it’s a “bailing wire fix” that could threaten the sustainability of charter schools in the years to come. The governor is an ardent supporter of school choice and states the legislation does not treat all charter schools equally. Senate File 61 […]
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Gordon signs bills amending state mental health assistance, child welfare
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — On Thursday, Gov. Mark Gordon approved several more bills to come out of the state Legislature during a public signing inside the Governor’s Ceremonial Conference Room. He also passed two bills on Wednesday. The governor signed a total of eight bills over the course of Wednesday and Thursday as Wyoming’s 2024 Legislature […]
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Lawmakers strike budget deal that restores funding for school construction, Gordon energy initiative
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile CHEYENNE—A second set of lawmakers took about 12 hours to accomplish what their colleagues couldn’t get done in five days — negotiate a single, unified budget between the House and the Senate. The compromise budget maintains funding for the University of Wyoming’s gender studies program, which has been a frequent target of […]
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Transvaginal ultrasounds likely required by Wyoming’s new abortion regulations
by Madelyn Beck, WyoFile A bill sitting on the governor’s desk would place more regulations on abortions in Wyoming, including a required ultrasound at least 48 hours before terminating a pregnancy. Pushback on similar legislation led to an outcry in Utah in part because of what it may mean: required transvaginal ultrasounds. House Bill 148 – […]
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Curbs on foreign land ownership, immigrant driver’s licenses fail in House
by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Restricting foreign influence and immigration in Wyoming was a priority for some lawmakers this session, yet repeated, and at times unconventional, attempts to advance legislation addressing these issues failed. Earlier this session, three bills — two that would have restricted foreign land ownership in Wyoming and another deeming driver’s licenses issued […]
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Shot down, resuscitated: Wyoming Senate bucks precedent to target gun-free zones
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Sen. Dave Kinskey showed no interest Tuesday in letting the traditions of the Wyoming Senate stand in the way of civilians who want to carry firearms into public schools. A bill that stripped state and local governments’ authority to create gun-free zones in places like schools, college dormitories, the Wyoming Capitol and […]
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Wyoming’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors advances
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. by Madelyn Beck, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria may […]
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Chaos grips Wyoming Legislature after budget negotiations implode
by Maggie Mullen and Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Budget negotiations at the Wyoming Legislature spun out of control Monday night, with the Senate lobbing accusations of bad faith after House members declared a stalemate and walked away. The drama sparked questions about when and how lawmakers would finalize a budget and again raised the specter of a special […]
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School choice bill sheds early childhood component as it advances through Senate
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile A Senate committee Friday stripped the early childhood education component of a bill designed to help families pay for non-public school or pre-K expenses — excising support some say is desperately needed to fill Wyoming’s preschool gaps. “The pre-K aspect of this bill is the only part of the bill that really […]
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Ultrasound, waiting-period requirements added to Wyoming abortion restriction bill
by Madelyn Beck, WyoFile Wyoming’s bill to further regulate abortion clinics was amended late last week to require an ultrasound at least 48 hours before terminating a pregnancy. House Bill 148 – Regulation of surgical abortions’ initial focus was on requiring clinics offering procedural abortions to be licensed surgical centers and for its doctors to have admitting privileges […]
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Bill granting greater access to police records for misconduct inquiries advances
by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile Support in the Wyoming Legislature remains strong for a bill that would provide greater personnel records access for police misconduct investigations — an issue that arose following an effort to decertify former Albany County law enforcement Derek Colling, who shot and killed local resident Robbie Ramirez in 2018, stalled after a court blocked […]
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Senate and House must bridge $1.1 billion budget chasm — and soon
by Maya Shimizu Harris and Maggie Mullen, WyoFile With two fiscal plans that differ by more than a billion dollars, lawmakers appointed to negotiate a unified state budget have more than their share of work cut out for them. On Friday, lawmakers finished sorting through 295 budget amendments — a record number of proposals that foreshadowed the $1.1 […]
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Advocates hope to clear confusion around outdoor recreation funding bill
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile An outdoor recreation funding bill sailed out of a Senate committee Tuesday after lawmakers and residents heaped praise on it. High school students, however, testified that several senators appeared initially confused about the bill — and they hope those lawmakers get up to speed before the full body considers it on the […]
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Property tax reform faces tight legislative timeline
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile The Wyoming Legislature has less than two weeks to decide how to address its top non-budget priority — residential property taxes. As home values have soared for much of the state in recent years, so too have property taxes. That’s because homes are taxed according to their value. But it’s been an […]
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With the suicide lifeline bill’s defeat, funding for service will rest on budget negotiations
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile This year’s 988 suicide lifeline funding bill is […]
