Watching the circus in Washington only reinforces the urgency of holding our State legislature accountable. There were 341 bills and six joint resolutions introduced in the House, as well as 197 bills and 11 resolutions in the Senate. So far, 53 bills have been passed by the House of Representatives and crossed over to the Senate. The Senate has sent over 83 bills and resolutions to the House .These include bills that would adversely impact our public education system, our libraries, our healthcare system, our safety and just about everything else.
As of Monday afternoon, 95 bills and resolutions were killed in the House including HB 239 Reproductive Freedom Act sponsored by Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson; a bill that would have banned employers from hiring undocumented immigrants and implemented state fees; a committee-sponsored bill for additional funding for K-12 school facilities; and a bill that would have created a state housing investment program that would have supplied grants and loans for housing projects.
The deluge of bills and the complex process by which they do or do not become law can be overwhelming. However, Teton County's own Mike Yin has provided the following explainer in hopes more people will pay attention to the shenanigans in Cheyenne: Mike Yin Explains It All. You can access the information discussed in Mike's video here:Wyoming Legislature General Session 2025.
Fortunately, the deadline to introduce new bills in either chamber has passed. So now we can concentrate on those that are in the pipeline. Here are a few highlights (low lights?) of the current session. (This is obviously only a partial list and we will focus on more bills in Friday's newsletter.)
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
HB 0131 Ballot Drop Boxes Prohibition - Every County Clerk is against this and the Heritage Foundation has found no evidence of voter fraud but the Freedom Caucus knows best. By making it harder for residents—especially rural voters, the elderly, and those with disabilities—to cast their ballots, this legislation suppresses voter participation under the guise of election security.
HB 0172 Repeal Gun Free Zones- Would allow concealed carry in schools, government buildings and meetings, as well as college and university sporting events that do not serve alcohol. Worse, it would repeal a portion of Wyoming law allowing local school boards to develop rules and regulations that allow employees to possess a firearm on school property.
HB 0046 Homeschool Freedom Act - Removes the requirement for parents or guardians administering home-based educational programs to submit their curriculum to local school boards each year.
HB 194 Obscenity Amendments - Opens up librarians and educators for criminal prosecution under obscenities statutes. NB: scheduled to be heard in Judiciary committee tomorrow (Wednesday 2/5). Legislation as written is really unclear and could also impact booksellers and other businesses, as well as museums, public art, etc.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FREEDOM
HB 159 Protecting Water from Chemical Abortion Waste - Despite a stack of facts against it, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blunt declaration there’s no evidence to back up these claims (The FDA found mifepristone excreted by patients at levels less than 1 part per billion in aquatic environments), the panel voted 6-2 to send it to the full House.
We could go on and on but ultimately, hope you will use the following resources to stay informed. The Wyoming Democratic Party has an excellentlegislative tracker and you can filter by specific topics. You can also sign up for their weekly updatehere. Check out Wyofile for excellent in-depth coverage and the Jackson Hole Dailyhas Capital Corner with Jasmine Hall reporting from Cheyenne during the session. Other excellent resources include bill trackers from the Wyoming Education Association, Wyoming Equality and the Wyoming Women's Foundation.
