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Catch up on breaking news and quick updates from around the state.

Legislators kill a requirement for staff to publish a list of quarantined emails

Some people sit at a big, curved desk.
Jordan Uplinger
/
Wyoming Public Media
The Management Council met in the state Capitol building on April 8 to hear committee chairs' thoughts on interim topics.

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

The Wyoming Legislature’s top leaders on the Management Council voted down a draft bill in a 5-5 split on Nov. 19 that would’ve required the nonpartisan Legislative Service Office (LSO) to publish a list of quarantined email addresses.

That’s after one political group alleged the current system is keeping their messages from being read. As it stands, emails can wind up in a lawmaker’s quarantine folder if Microsoft determines they’re mass messages.

Drake Hill gave public comment as a lawyer representing Honor Wyoming, a political nonprofit that advocates for lawmakers to uphold conservative values and tends to back further-right candidates for office.

He testified the effect of the current email quarantine policy is censorship of the public’s communications with legislators.

Besides Honor Wyoming, no member of the public gave comment on the draft legislation.

Some lawmakers insisted constituent emails are, in fact, getting through, but that instead of inboxes, they’re landing in spam or junk files.

Others pointed out that when Honor Wyoming first raised the email system issue in January 2025, LSO made it easier for their messages to get through to electeds’ inboxes.

An individual lawmaker could still choose to sponsor the bill in the upcoming budget session, though it will need a two-thirds vote to survive introduction in either chamber.

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.

Leave a tip: cclemen7@uwyo.edu
Chris Clements is a state government reporter for Wyoming Public Media based in Laramie. He came to WPM from KSJD Radio in Cortez, Colorado, where he reported on Indigenous affairs, drought, and local politics in the Four Corners region. Before that, he graduated with a degree in English (Creative Writing) from Arizona State University. Chris's news stories have been featured on NPR's Weekend Edition and hourly newscasts, as well as on WBUR's Here & Now and National Native News.

This position is partially funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through the Wyoming State Government Collaboration.