By David Velazquez
Casper Star-Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange
CASPER — The Legislature on Friday wrapped up the first week of its 20-day budget session, and at the end of the week, bills that had not yet been voted on for introduction died.
Speaker of the House Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, had up to Friday to decide the order in which the 229 bills filed in his chamber were to be voted on for introduction.
By the time the House adjourned on Friday evening 94 bills died without a vote.
The Senate filed roughly 100 less bills and voted on all but two.
The Wyoming Legislature has until March 8 at midnight to set the state’s budget for 2025-26. Bills drafted by committees were pushed through for voting first in both chambers of the Legislature.
Among the committee bills that failed to get support from two thirds of the House of Representatives to be introduced was House Bill 2, sponsored by the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Interim Committee, which would have raised nonresident fishing license fees. The same committee also failed to introduce House Bill 17, which sought to regulate commercially guided fishing boats operated by outfitters and professional fishing guides.
More than 20 bills attempting to address rising property taxes — which rose an average of 20.3% in 2023 — were brought forward, with only a couple failing to move forward.
Bills not relating to the state’s budget met mixed reception and votes varied by chamber.
House Bill 63 sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, which sought to prohibit physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment, failed to meet the threshold for introduction. But Senate Bill 99, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, accomplishes the same goal as House Bill 63 and met the two thirds vote for introduction.
Other failed house bills include House Bill 85, sponsored by Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, which sought to require parental consent for social media platforms for minors and House Bill 50, sponsored by Rep. Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, which would have defined by law what a male, female, mother, father, boy and girl.
Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Sheridan, failed to receive the needed votes for House Bill 108, which would ban abortion drugs from entering any public water supply or community water system. Bills relating to guns passed in both chambers of the Legislature and Senate Bill 109, sponsored by Biteman, is intended to stop the implementation or enforcement of federal red flag gun seizures. Red Flag Laws allow for a temporary removal of firearms from people believed to present a danger to themselves or others.
House Bill 125, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, would repeal gun free zones and allow for concealed carry in any meeting of a governmental entity, any meeting of the legislature and any public school, public college or university.
Bills seeking to ban certain foreign entities from owning land in Wyoming also passed both in chambers of the Legislature.
House Bill 168, sponsored by Rep. Dalton Banks, R-Cowley, seeks to ban foreign businesses, governments and aliens from ownership of agricultural lands and Senate File 102, sponsored by Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, seeks to prohibit foreign ownership of property near critical infrastructure and military installations.
Roughly half of the country has laws preventing or restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land. Federal officials in October raised concerns over a Chinese Bitcoin mine close to F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
Senate File 130, sponsored by Biteman, narrowly passed introduction. The bill seeks to prohibit any governmental entities from engaging in any diversity, equity or inclusion program, activity or policy.
Follow the legislative session at wyoleg.gov.
