After the end of the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s general session, lawmakers hopped in their cars and drove back to their home communities. One of those lawmakers was freshman Rep. Tom Kelly (R-Sheridan), who told Wyoming Public Radio in a phone interview the session surprised him in more ways than one.
First of all, Kelly said it was often representatives in the Democratic Party who were some of the easiest politicos to work with in the House of Representatives, where he joined 22 other first-time legislators in January. He said he developed a level of respect for Democrats’ desire to bolster the strength of all legislation.
“Even when they disagreed with the bill, even when they were a solid ‘no’ on it and voted against [it] every chance they could, they still would offer advice and insight to try and make it the best legislation they could,” said Kelly.
The willingness of House Democrats to collaborate with the other side of the aisle even extended to policies they loathed, he added.
“I had a lot of respect for the idea of, ‘I hate this bill, I'm not voting for it, but as long as we're going to pass it, you could duct tape this part right here.’” he said. “‘There's a mistake, or there's a mistake in wording, or we could probably clarify this better.’”
A key example of their help applied to bills addressing property tax reform, according to him. One of the most consequential pieces of legislation to be signed by the governor this past session was SF 69, “Homeowner property tax exemption.”
That new law means single-family homeowners will see a 25% cut applied to the first $1 million of their home's fair market value. It ended up being one of the most-debated measures to reach lawmakers’ desks in the general session.
“I obviously disagree with [Democrats] on most issues and policies, but we did agree on the fact that you came there and honestly presented your principles to the voters, and you did the best you could to represent them with integrity in the House,” Kelly said.
With the Legislature’s off season, or “interim,” underway, Kelly said he’s already learned through conversations with some of his constituents that they were disappointed in his votes on certain bills.
For example, Kelly, a self-described libertarian, voted against HB 64, which restricts medication abortion access through a transvaginal ultrasound requirement. Pregnant Wyomingites seeking abortion pills now need to have an ultrasound procedure and wait 48 hours before their physicians can prescribe them the pills to end their pregnancies.
Gov. Mark Gordon rejected that bill but the Legislature voted to override him. Kelly joined 15 other representatives in dissenting against the override vote.
“I had an issue with [HB 64] violating plank 10 of the Republican Party platform, which says very bluntly, under no circumstances ever will the state mandate any medical procedure, modality, whatever,” he said. “I couldn't reconcile in my head that HB 64 was doing just that – that an ultrasound is a form of healthcare. It is a healthcare procedure.”
Plank 10’s exact wording, under the subheading “liberty,” says, “No medical procedure, modality, or treatment should ever be mandated under any circumstances.” HB 64 is one of two abortion restrictions caught up in a civil lawsuit refiled in Natrona County District Court this week.
Constituents also brought concerns to Kelly about his vote against SF 98, “School board trustees-party affiliation.” That bill would’ve required candidates for school boards to have their political party affiliations printed on general election ballots. It died on third reading in the House.
“The bill really did nothing other than make a candidate declare whether they are a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent,” he said. “I know from working down in Cheyenne, it doesn't really matter what somebody declares their party to be. It is not a good indicator of how they're going to vote on issues.”
Kelly said he was surprised and “humbled” to learn that House leadership appointed him to the Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration. It will look at funding for public education in Wyoming this summer.
That body will have a big role to play following a Laramie County District Court’s ruling that the state is unconstitutionally underfunding public schools. The committee convenes every five years to recalibrate state spending on education to account for inflation and other changes.
The House delegation to the committee is stacked with leadership heavyweights, including House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett), Majority Whip Rep. Ocean Andrew (R-Laramie), Majority Floor Leader Rep. Scott Heiner (R-Green River), Minority Floor Leader Rep. Mike Yin (D-Jackson), and Kelly, who’s a professor and department chair at American Military University.
“The spending model is obviously out of whack, because it recommends starting teachers make 30-something-thousand [dollars],” he said. “You can make that much stocking shelves now at a big box store.”
The committee has its work cut out for it, Kelly said, due to two external factors impacting public education and low spending levels.
The first big factor is the passage of the 25% property tax cut, which is expected to hit the budgets of some counties and special districts hard.
“And we have a court decision saying that the schools are improperly funded,” Kelly said. “So I'm looking at slightly reduced revenues and a court that is pushing for more spending, even if that's not necessarily the answer for recalibration at this point.”
Kelly wants to see teacher salaries rise, he said, while potentially taking a look at the salaries of school administrators. He said he’s still reviewing old court cases from Campbell County before the select committee meets for the first time.
“The judiciary is essentially dictating the state spend more on education,” he said. “[That’s] coming from judges that don't necessarily have a background in education, with that erroneous assumption that if we spend more, things will be better. That's typically not the case.”
Possible interim committee topics were released this week. Final decisions will be made on April 8.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
