Legislature convenes next week

The Wyoming State Legislature convenes for its 68th session next week, with plenty of options available for citizens who wish to engage.

As an odd-numbered year, 2025 will be a General Session, which is limited to 40 days and begins on the second Tuesday in January.

A typical legislative day sees committee meetings from 7 until 10 a.m., followed by the House and Sen-ate convening in Chambers until noon. After lunch, at 2 p.m., both Chambers reconvene; upon ad-journment, committee meetings continue.

On the Table

More than 200 bills have been assigned numbers or received for introduction in either the House or Senate so far this year.

Some are already garnering attention, such as the “What is a Woman Act”, which would create defini-tions and standards for the application of a person’s biological sex in law, rules and regulations. The act would require the collection of vital statistics and other data to identify people as male or female at birth, and would allow the law to distinguish between accommodations for males and females.

Gender is also the subject of HB-72, which would specify requirements for public facilities to have sex-designated restrooms, showers, sleeping quarters and locker room facilities, and SF-62, which would require school children to use restrooms that align with their sex at birth.

Property tax remains a hot topic. HB-39 would reduce the household income limit for the property tax refund program from 165% of median for the county or state to 145%, while HB-98 would repeal the sunset date on the property tax exemption for long-term homeowners.

SF-69 would make 25% of the fair market value of a family home exempt from property tax. The exemp-tion would apply to the first $2 million of value.

The legislature may be taking another crack at regulating abortions through HB-42, which sets require-ments for licensure of surgical abortion facilities and specifies civil liability for damages resulting from abortions. HB-64 would require an ultrasound before a chemical abortion.

Education freedom also remains at the fore, with HB-46 removing the requirement for homeschool pro-grams to submit a curriculum to the local school board.

The legislature may also consider a ban on the use of cell phones and smart watches in schools.

Election security may also be discussed on the floor, with SF-78 prohibiting anyone who is not a county clerk or the secretary of state from distributing absentee ballot request forms unless specifically solicit-ed.

In HB-69, the legislature will consider allowing the Secretary of State to dissolve a corporation if it is owned or controlled by a foreign government or person determined to be a foreign adversary by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

HB-19 would require that social media companies obtain parental consent before a minor is allowed to create an account. HB-43 would meanwhile require age verification for websites with obscene material.

A bill that would create a new criminal offense of cruelty to animals would see anyone who used a vehi-cle to injure a predator subject to a fine up to $1000 for a first offense and suspension of their privilege to hold a hunting license.

COVID-19’s after-effects are visible in HB-96, which would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s vaccination, face covering or medical testing status, and HB-114, which would protect religious assembly in states of emergency.

Whether or not bills are introduced to the floor is at the discretion of the Speaker of the House and Sen-ate President.

Citizen Engagement

The Wyoming State Capitol is open to the public from 6:30 a.m. until the last committee has adjourned for the day throughout the session. If you wish to visit, be aware that seating in the galleries is first-come, first-served.

All meetings can also be viewed live on YouTube at the “Wyoming Legislature” channel.

If you wish to contact either of Crook County’s legislators, you can email them at any time via [email protected] or [email protected].

During the session, you can leave a message for either legislator at (307) 777-7881 or leave your rec-ommendation for support or opposition for a piece of legislation via the online hotline at wyo-leg.gov/Legislation/onlineHotline/2025 or at the phone number above. The Wyoming Relay Service is available for the hearing impaired at (800) 877-9965.

If you wish to send a handout to legislators, a form is available at wyo-leg.gov/docs/HandoutSubmissionForm.pdf.

You can also sign up to testify via Zoon during a committee meeting by visiting the calendar page at wyo-leg.gov and clicking the “testify” button before 5 p.m. on the day prior to the one on which the topic is scheduled for discussion (or, for standing meetings, at least one hour before the meeting begins).

Use the “raise hand” function when the chairman calls for public comment.

When testifying, you are asked to be brief and not repeat what another speaker has said. If your state-ment is similar to previous comments, you can say that you agree with a previous speaker.