By Tom Coulter

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE – The public will not be allowed into the Capitol for the Wyoming Legislature’s two-day special session starting Friday, which will include some lawmakers attending in person and others participating virtually.

While media members initially appeared to be among those barred from attending, a plan is now in the works that would allow some journalists into the Capitol with strict restrictions on where they could go.

The executive order issued Thursday by Gov. Mark Gordon originally prohibited all members of the public, including journalists, from attending the session in person, a spokesman for the governor said Friday.

However, when reached by a reporter Friday afternoon, House Speaker Steve Harshman, R-Casper, said the door is still open for select media members to go to the Capitol.

“I think we’re going to figure out something for the media,” Harshman said. “Whether with photographers, or you open up the press room down there, something like that.”

The Wyoming Press Association sent a letter Thursday night to Harshman and Senate President Drew Perkins, R-Casper, advocating for media access to the Capitol for the special session. In a response sent Friday afternoon, Matt Obrecht, director of the state’s Legislative Service Office, said staff was working on a plan to let media inside.

“Journalists would be split between House and Senate to maintain social distancing,” Obrecht wrote. “There would also be an interview area of the Capitol Complex where social distancing could be maintained, but where members (of the Legislature) could provide live interviews.”

State officials should have a more definitive plan Monday, Obrecht wrote. Regardless of who’s let in, those attending at the Capitol will be expected to follow social distancing of six feet, as well as other guidelines outlined by the Wyoming Department of Health.

The entire session will be conducted virtually via the online videoconferencing platform Zoom, meaning some lawmakers at the Capitol could work in other conference rooms if the Senate or House floor is too crowded.

“We’re going to conduct it via Zoom anyway, so even if you’re spread around the Capitol or spread around Wyoming, it’s going to be the same,” Harshman said. “Nobody is going to go to the podium in the House of Representatives to talk.”

While Harshman and Perkins plan to attend in person to sign bills, the exact number of lawmakers coming to Cheyenne remains unclear. Legislative staff was taking a poll Friday to determine lawmakers’ plans, though those results were not available by press time.

While everyone at the Capitol will have to follow social distancing guidelines, Harshman was unsure whether every lawmaker who shows up will be wearing a protective mask.

“I think it’s up to individual members,” he added.

A couple local lawmakers have already committed to attending in person. Rep. Sue Wilson, R-Cheyenne, said she will be wearing a mask at the Capitol.

“I feel like I should wear one to set a good example as the chairman of the (House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee),” Wilson said.

During the special session – which could be the first of several in coming months – state lawmakers will focus on distributing part of Wyoming’s $1.25 billion share of funding in the federal coronavirus relief bill. Among other things, programs in the proposed legislation would provide loans and grants to Wyoming businesses, bolster some health care facilities and offer relief to landlords to stave off evictions.

Lawmakers on the Management Council, which is composed of leadership from both parties and chambers, met virtually Friday morning to adopt rules for the special session.

With the session slated for just two days, members of the council approved a rule change to allow multiple readings of bills in the same day. During normal legislative sessions, bills must receive votes on three separate days.

The legislation up for consideration during the session will be treated much like the Legislature’s budget bills. “Mirror bills” will go through both chambers, and some restrictions will be in place on when amendments can be brought. Any differences between the two bills would then be hashed out in a joint conference committee, composed of both House and Senate members.

While the general public will not be allowed to enter the Capitol during the special session, the House speaker was hopeful people will be inclined to engage remotely. The YouTube streams of recent Management Council meetings have drawn hundreds of viewers, far more than Harshman has seen in past meetings.

“You could have thousands tune into this session,” Harshman said. “You never know, but there’s an upside and a downside to all of this.”

Bruce Moats, a local public access attorney who has represented many news outlets, including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, said prohibiting the public makes it crucial for reporters to attend, especially given the historic process of holding the session via video.

“It’s for the public good that the public is excluded, but that makes it even more important that the news media be allowed to be there, since they are, as the state Supreme Court said, the eyes and ears of the people,” Moats said.

The special session starting Friday may not be the only one held in coming months. With oil prices in the tank and Wyoming’s revenue streams in jeopardy, state lawmakers have repeatedly mentioned the likelihood of at least one more special session being held after this one.

For those in the public who are interested in watching the proceedings that begin at 8 a.m. Friday, a livestream will be available at www.wyoleg.gov.