The 68th Wyoming Legislature will forever be known as the session that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus took over the state House. What the group does with its majority during the 37-day legislative session that begins Tuesday remains to be seen.
One of the key points that House Speaker-elect Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, gave during a press conference last week is a desire to give a voice to all members of his chamber and promote a sense of unity. What that partially means is giving certain pieces of socially conservative legislation a chance that may not have had much of a chance in the past.
The Freedom Caucus holds around 36-37 seats in the House as a result of the 2024 Republican primary election, where around a dozen members of the opposing Wyoming Caucus either lost their seats or didn’t run for reelection.
Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, a freshman legislator who is politically aligned with the caucus, believes the people of Wyoming have given a mandate for this type of legislation.
“It’s so exciting, there’s an amazing amount of energy. Everyone here is so excited to work for the people," she said. “We all campaigned on change — lower property taxes, getting DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) out of the state, no more ESG (environmental, social and governance), close the borders.”
Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, is skeptical that the Freedom Caucus agenda amounts to a mandate from all Wyoming people, mentioning the low turnout in the primary election, but said he still feels comfortable about the direction the Legislature is headed.
“The sun is still going to rise in the east and it’s still going to set in the west and the borders of Wyoming are not going to cease to exist,” Brown said. “We’re all going to be fine. The voters who showed up in the primary, this is what they sent their electeds to do and now that’s what we’re going to see happen.”
Brown added that he expects some of the legislation that passes into law in the upcoming session will hurt Wyoming.
What’s It Look Like So Far?
Already, well more than a dozen controversial bills have popped up on the Legislature’s website. If just one of these bills were to pass into law, it would mark a significant political shift at the Capitol.
One of the most notable is a bill from Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, that would allow school districts and charter schools to hire people to teach who don’t have a teaching certificate from the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board. What that means is that if Andrew’s bill passes into law, a school could hire someone not only lacking any teaching training, but also a college degree.
Brown said he’s already received 15-20 phone calls from people expressing concern about this legislation.
“It’s terrifying some of these teachers, it’s terrifying some of these parents,” Brown said.
Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, has brought two bills that would also be highly significant if passed into law.
The first would specify that driver's licenses and driving privilege cards issued in other states to undocumented citizens are invalid in Wyoming, and thereby make it illegal for these people to drive in Wyoming. Wyoming law already prevents any undocumented noncitizen from applying for a driver’s license or identification card.
Her other bill would allow health care providers in Wyoming to refuse to offer medical services they don’t agree with on a personal basis, and health care payers the right to refuse to pay for these services. It also would allow “religious” health care providers and groups the “right to make employment, staffing, contracting and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its religious beliefs.”
Another bill from Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, would prevent people from selling or transferring their land to the federal government without permission from the state Legislature.
“Here we are as a conservative state telling somebody what they can and can’t do with their private property,” Brown said. “Where did we learn to become conservative by telling someone what they can’t do with their private property rights?”
Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, has brought legislation that would make DEI requirements at state agencies and the University of Wyoming illegal unless required by federal law. It would also make it so that UW could not require a student to take any DEI-related classes to graduate, unless they are pursuing a racial, ethnic or gender studies degree; and prohibit the use of any of those classes as a prerequisite for any other major, minor or certificate beyond satisfying credit‑hour graduation requirements.
Although not as known for bringing legislation like this in the past, Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, is sponsoring a bill that would require school board candidates to have their political affiliation printed on general election ballots.
A number of the freshman House members are bringing back highly charged bills that didn’t have much success in the past, like banning all vaccine and mask requirements, requiring that bathroom usage be delineated by biological sex, and prohibiting Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization mandates in Wyoming. How much success these bills have will likely be the greatest proof of how much the Legislature has shifted.
The Culture
There’s a lot more that goes into the Legislature than just the bills passed into law. Often, more focus gets placed on the bills that don’t get passed, what led to them being killed, and the overall decorum of the session.
Brown, who has often criticized the Freedom Caucus’ somewhat brash approach in the past, does believe Neiman is legitimately trying to foster unity in the body heading into the session. Brown pointed to the fact Neiman named him chair of the House Transportations Committee for another session, despite the Freedom Caucus not being given a single chair position in the last legislative session while boasting a roster of around 26 members.
He believes Neiman has given the most effort to being fair and equitable to all members since former House Speaker Eric Barlow, R-Gillette.
“I really think that Chip is doing a great job leading the House so far,” Brown said.
Outgoing state legislator Cyrus Western is also hopeful about the Freedom Caucus’ claims they want unity and productivity, but fosters deep pessimism about it. He expects a significant amount of fighting and a lack of problem solving in the upcoming session.
“At the end of the day, they’re running the show, and if they mess up, it’s bad for Wyoming, so I hope they are able to govern effectively, I hope they are able to work together and solve problems and to deliver solutions,” Western said. “But if we are to match actions and words, there is a pretty big disconnect there between their traditional tactics of campaigning, of what they do and what they say versus what they do and what they say now.”
The Freedom Caucus routinely blasted outgoing House Speaker Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, over the past two years and initiated many tactics during the session viewed as uncivil by their political opponents. They didn’t let up along the campaign trail, sending out a series of mailers blasting their opponents, containing information that led to an ongoing lawsuit.
“They fostered a very hostile work environment where there was not a lot of faith and trust between members,” Western said.
By Monday afternoon, the Freedom Caucus had already started drifting away from their positive tone of the past week, deriding in an email “decades of Good Old Boy control,” representing an “insider cabal” of “lobbyists, bureaucrats, and establishment fat cats who have gaining power and influence at the expense of the everyday Wyomingite.”
Although the group has been very transparent about outlining their plans for the upcoming session, none of its Five and Dime Plan strategies do anything to directly shrink the size of government as promised along the campaign trail.
Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, was one of the Wyoming Caucus members who survived their reelection bid. Clouston said he’s optimistic about the upcoming session but does expect a different approach than what’s been seen in the past, though it’s a far cry from “trying to burn the house down” as he believes some have argued.
“We probably agree on 70%-80% of things and that’s what I’d like to work on,” he said.
What About The Senate?
There are also questions about what the Senate will look like this year.
The political makeup of this chamber stayed about the same, although its leadership has shifted to the right, with Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, elected as the new Senate President. Biteman hasn’t responded to any of Cowboy State Daily’s requests for comment about his future vision since being elected in November.
Steinmetz told Cowboy State Daily last week she still hadn’t received any communication from Biteman’s leadership team that includes Sens. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, and Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne.
Outgoing Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said he hasn’t been included in any conversations with the new leadership but plans to fully support them.
Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, said that the new leadership group has promoted a vision of policy and ideas instead of personal politics and attacks.
“This body does its best work when we argue about ideas,” he said. “We all want what’s best for Wyoming. When we argue about ideas, I’m proud of this body.”
The first day and a half of the Legislature is mostly procedural, with members sworn in on Tuesday afternoon and the governor giving his State of the State address on Wednesday morning. Gierau expects by midday Thursday it will be clear what the 2025 session is going to look like.
Unlikely Friendship
Last Friday afternoon, Gierau and Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, were sitting together and chatting in the otherwise empty Senate chamber. Although their friendship may seem unlikely because of their vastly different political beliefs, they both contend that the Senate is much more about relationships than the House due to the much smaller size of the body.
“When I walk in the door everyday, I don’t have the luxury not to listen to my friend,” said Gierau, a former member of the House. “A lot more of that happens here.”
Another commonality between the two is that they both represent districts bordering on or located inside of national parks.
“Our goal, whether Democrat or Republican, is let’s do our best for the 600-something thousand people of this state,” French said. “Everybody here, that’s their goal. I’m proud to serve in here and always listen to other ideas.”
Still, French also wouldn’t deny that this year’s session is going to be different.
“The voters have said this is the direction they want to go,” he said. “Elections have consequences. They chose a conservative direction.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
