Hello and welcome to the 68th Wyoming Legislative Session! This week was the opening session, and it was a busy one. This week saw action on everything from the repeal of gun-free zones, even including in our schools, to legislation regarding transgender rights in the state of Wyoming. It also saw the failure of bills that would have positively impacted the state before they even got their time on the floor, fixes to broken bills voted down, and much more. We will do our best to keep you updated with these weekly recaps.

Highlights & Video Clips

• Minority House Floor Leader Yin’s Opening session remarks
• Rep. Yin welcomes the 68th Wyoming House. Watch the clip here.
• Senate Minority Floor Leader Gierau’s Opening session remarks
• Sen. Gierau welcomes the 68th Wyoming Senate. Watch the clip here.
• Rep. Karlee Provenza’s Floor Speech on HB0032
• Rep. Provenza describes how the What is a Woman act will harm women, specifically women who are already victims of sexual assault. Watch the clip here.
• Rep. Karlee Provenza’s Committee Speech on HB0118
• Rep. Provenza responds to the demonization of our public lands, which we use to hunt, fish, and recreate. Watch the clip here.
• Wyoming State Treasurer Curtis E. Meier Testifies on HB0080
• Wyoming State Treasurer Curtis E. Meier Testifies on the Catastrophic Consequences of the Cultural War on Banks Bill HB0080. Watch the clip here. 

Legislation Breakdown

HOUSE BILLS

• HB0017: Career technical education equipment grants amendments.
• Sponsored by the Joint Education Committee.
• It will allow our small towns to more easily access the funds they need to get career technical education programs started and up to date. This bill will give greater access to CTE and pathways to good, well-paying jobs for Wyoming’s students.
• This Bill has passed the 2nd reading, and if it passes the 3rd, it will be considered by the Senate.
• HB0080: Stop ESG-State funds Fiduciary Duty Act.
• Sponsored By: Representatives Knapp, Angelos, Banks, Bear, Haroldson, Neiman, Singh, Tarver, Webb and Winter, and Senator Steinmetz.
• This bill brings the culture war to banking by forbidding the state from investing in a number of politically motivated areas, such as a company having goals regarding climate change. The State Treasure testified that not only would half of his staff quit, and if he were to follow the letter of the law, he could only invest in three companies on the S&P 500, The Treasurer stated, “The plain language of the bill, I think, could result in what I would characterize as catastrophic, unintended consequences.” These culture-war bills threaten our state’s financial solubility.
• This bill is still being debated in the House Minerals Committee on Monday, 1/21, at 7:30 a.m. in room E005 and online.
• HB0048: Department of Family services-confidentiality amendments.
• Sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee.
• This bill would have allowed our state agencies to more easily and efficiently deliver services the people of Wyoming not just need but are owed. 
• It was voted down 5-4 in committee. We are exploring opportunities to bring this bill back to the floor as we believe it is in the best interest of our constituents.
• ? HB0049: Treatment courts-amendments.
• Sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee.
• This bill would have helped reduce the number of our neighbors struggling with drug addiction from time in jail and would redirect them to treatment courts. This would have saved the state money and helped keep families, neighborhoods, and communities whole.
• It was also voted down in committee. We are exploring opportunities to bring this bill back to the floor as we believe it is in the best interest of our constituents.
• HB0156: Proof of voter residency registration qualifications.
• Sponsored By: Representatives Bear, Andrew, Angelos, Bratten, Brown, Campbell, Clouston, Geringer, Guggenmos, Haroldson, Heiner, Hoeft, Knapp, Lawley, Locke, Lucas, McCann, Neiman, Rodriguez-Williams, Webb, Webber and Winter and Senators Ide, Laursen, Pearson, Smith, and Steinmetz
• The FC says this bill is for election security, except it is so broken that it doesn’t do what the sponsors say it does. When amendments were brought to create actual residency requirements, the FC voted them down because it is more about theater than working policy.
• HB0156 passed the 2nd reading, and if it passes the 3rd, it will be considered by the Senate.
• HB0032: What is a Woman Act.
• Sponsored By: Representatives Lien, Allemand, Angelos, Bear, Brady, Campbell, Guggenmos, Heiner, Hoeft, McCann, Pendergraft, and Webb and Senator Pearson.
• This bill would legally define male and female based on someone’s sex assigned at birth. This bill, if it becomes law, will harm transgender Wyomingites. In committee debate, when asked where trans folks should use restrooms if this law were to pass, representatives repeatedly claimed that trans residents should use the ADA family bathrooms, something they say “most” businesses have. This form of social othering has a long and painful history in this nation, and this new wave of anti-trans legislation falls into the same tradition. This is simply more theater when real problems are facing Wyoming.
• HB0032 passed the 2nd reading, and if it passes the 3rd, it will be considered by the Senate.
• HB0169: Homeowner tax exemption-2025 and 2026 
• Sponsored By: Representatives Locke, Bear, Brown, G, Campbell, K, Heiner, Hoeft, Johnson, Knapp, Lien, Lucas, McCann, Neiman, Pendergraft, Riggins, Smith, Webber and Wharff and Senators Laursen, D, McKeown, Pearson, and Smith
• While this bill sounds nice in theory, it is a bandaid on a larger problem of a broken property tax system, this fix will not solve this problem long term, it will endanger funding for vital services like hospitals and will fail to even provide property tax relief to those who have experienced the most significant increases in the last few years.
• The House Revenue Committee gave this bill a do-pass in an 8-1 vote. It will be read in the House in an upcoming floor session. We will keep you updated on its movement.

SENATE FILES

• SF0044: Fairness in Sports—Intercollegiate Athletics.
• Sponsored by Senators Schuler, Brennan, Crago, and Dockstader and Representatives Davis and Harshman.
• This bill would unseat sporting organizations as the bodies that can self-govern the sporting leagues they oversee. Its broad definitions of sports threaten to make this restriction even more sweeping than just sports and stretch it to even intramural sports.
• The bill has passed the committee and will be heard by the Senate soon; we will keep you updated on its movement. 

Roadmap for Next Week

COMMITTEE HEARINGS

• Joint Appropriations will be meeting to discuss the Supplemental Budget. They Meet 1/20/2025, 8:00 AM State Capitol, Room E301 & Online

• House Education will meet to discuss HB0094, which would uncap the number of charter schools in the state. They meet on 1/20/2025, Upon Noon Recess in Room E003 & Online

• Senate Education will meet to discuss SF0090 Youth Organizations in Schools, SF0021 Ban on Cell Phone Use in Schools, and SF0073 Charter School funding amendments. They meet on 1/20/2025, 8:00 AM in the State Capitol, Room W110 & Online.

• The House Minerals Committee will continue discussing bringing the culture war to banking in Wyoming with HB0080. They meet 1/20/2025, 7:30 AM, Room E005 & Online

• House Labor and Health will meet to discuss HB0096, prohibiting masks and vaccines, and testing discrimination. This bill seeks to make it a crime to discriminate based on vaccine status or masking status, a huge blow to vital public health and safety measures. They meet 1/20/2025, 8:00 AM, Room E003 & Online

Public Engagement

All committee meetings are open to the public for viewing and testimony. Please click the links above to register to testify online.

Thank you for reading this week’s Wyoming Legislative Democrats Weekly Newsletter.
Your involvement is key to creating positive change for Wyoming. Let’s continue to stand together and advocate for a state that works for everyone. We appreciate your support and look forward to sharing more updates in the coming weeks. We can build a stronger Wyoming that works for us all; together, we will.