Wyoming’s 68th Legislature kicked off its budget session on Monday by voting to introduce some 72 bills for further consideration and killing another 33.
Many of the introduced bills were passed via a consent list.
A consent list allows the House or Senate to vote on a suite of uncontested bills en masse, with no debate or discussion. In the Wyoming Legislature, it’s often used on third reading, the final vote a bill gets.
On Monday, both chambers used multiple consent lists to introduce “committee bills.” These bills were forwarded by lawmaking committees that spent the past year working to draft the legislation. In past sessions, committee bills have generally fared well, given the previous negotiations needed to win the committee’s backing, as well as the time and money they’re given.
“It's unusual to have controversial bills [on a consent list]. It's usually just committee bills, which this is,” Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) told Wyoming Public Radio before the votes. “The difference is that now, committees have different control. They’re controlled by the Freedom Caucus, many of them are, so some of the bills that come out of them don't represent Wyoming values in the same way and don't solve Wyoming problems.”
Lawmakers can motion to pull bills off the consent list, which opens them up for limited debate.
But Rep. Scott Smith (R-Lingle), a Wyoming Freedom Caucus member who sits on the powerful Joint Appropriations Committee, told WPR the bills on the consent lists have already been publicly discussed.
“ So with them already being in committee, they've already been heard by the committees, they've been heard by the public,” he said. “Then a lot of legislators who are not specifically on those committees, we have watched a lot of the YouTube videos ourselves, so I'm perfectly fine with the consent list to keep the work of the interim going and expedited.”
“ If there's bills that I disagree with, we still have the opportunity to vote no on them,” he added.
All bills needed a two-thirds majority to be introduced in the session for further consideration.
House consent lists
On the House side, Consent List A initially named 19 bills, including one to offer firefighters paid leave and hazard pay, a bill outlining how the state will fund public education, a bill enshrining corner crossing as a legal way to access public land, and bills upping the penalties for stalking and grooming minors.
It also included two bills from the Legislature’s Management Audit Committee that stemmed from an alleged mishandling of the 2024 election in Weston County. One would create a $750 penalty and/or up to six months in jail for failing to show up for a legislative subpoena. The other added “submitting a false post-election ballot audit” to the list of what’s considered falsifying election documents.
Sixteen of those bills passed the vote for introduction and were referred to committees, including the bills about stalking and grooming minors, corner crossing and firefighter pay.
But the recalibration bill that would update how the state funds public schools failed to be introduced, throwing into question how the constitutionally mandated update will move forward.
The House also killed a bill to create a fee for mountain bikes on state trails and another that would’ve levied taxes on solar and nuclear power generation.
The House’s Consent List B included the omnibus water planning bill that earmarks $5.2 million to study water master plans in eight towns and at the University of Wyoming, as well as study rehabilitation projects for irrigation districts in Park and Natrona counties, and dams and reservoirs at Clear Creek, Alkali Creek and Leavitt Reservoir.
Also, a right to repair digital electronic equipment bill, a bill requiring school districts to draft discipline policies and a resolution requesting Congress to increase Wyoming’s share of federal mineral royalties from the current 50% to 87.5%, among nearly 20 others at the start of the morning. It also included Medicaid coverage for birthing centers.
Twelve bills passed the vote for introduction and were referred to committees. Those included the omnibus water planning bill, the right to repair digital electronic equipment and Medicaid coverage for birthing centers.
But a bill that would’ve required K-12 school districts to adopt rules and policies regarding school discipline, including phone policies, failed introduction. The House also killed a bill that authorized state museums to collect fees and one that allowed gaming proceeds to fund outdoor recreation.
Senate consent lists
On the Senate side, Consent List A included the $26 million legislative budget bill that funds the legislative branch for the next two years – not the full state budget, a bill to extend the Wyoming Indian Child Welfare Act, a bill to dissolve the state’s economic development agency (Wyoming Business Council) and two bills to allow for limiting the number of landowner hunting licenses issued in limited quota hunt areas and cap the number of transferable hunting licenses resident landowners quality for at two, along with about 20 others initially listed in the morning.
That list was whittled down to 16 bills that were approved for introduction and referred to committees. The bill to dissolve the Wyoming Business Council and the two landowner hunting license proposals were pulled from the list to receive their own debate and votes for introduction. All three failed.
The Senate’s Consent List B included a suite of legislation that would change voter registration and identification requirements, a few bills aimed at student literacy, a constitutional amendment to repeal all residential property taxes and a bill to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for ground ambulance services to 100% of the current Medicare rate for the next two years.
The Senate’s Consent List B initially included about 30 bills, but eight were pulled for individual debate and introduction. The voter identification change was axed, as was the proposal to repeal all residential property taxes. A bill to update Wyomingites’ abilities to request fast and accurate public records, as well as a bill to reform which elected officials are members of a county’s central committee of political parties, both failed alongside six other bills from Consent List B.
Other notable actions
A passel of elections-related bills failed to be introduced, including bans on ballot drop boxes and ballot collection drives. The bills were championed by Secretary of State Chuck Gray as election integrity measures, though election clerks who run elections at the county level say Wyoming’s elections are secure and accurate.
Also killed were bills that would ban cloud seeding, one that would require agencies to seek review from the Legislature when creating administrative rules, and one that would direct the state to request a federal waiver to bar candy and sugary drinks from foods that can be purchased through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – though the governor already submitted a waiver request.
Representatives agreed to introduce a couple of bills that will be referred to chamber committees. That includes a house bill that prohibits any state or other government entity from adopting any law or policy targeting pregnancy centers from having a stance against abortion.
Another bill moved forward that targets library books for what it calls "sexually explicit" content. Those books wouldn't be allowed in school libraries and would be moved to adult sections of public libraries.
Another newly introduced bill would create a process for certain election recounts to be done by handcounting.
Where things go from here
Committee bills that failed to get introduced Monday still have a shot. Individual lawmakers can refile them and other individual bills before a Feb. 11 deadline.
Next, each bill will be assigned to a committee in the chamber where the bill was introduced. There, committee members will hear public and expert testimony, debate and amend the bills before either killing them or sending them back to the full House or Senate for further mark ups.
Each bill needs a total of three affirmative votes from the House and Senate to progress to the governor’s desk.
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.
