The seventh day of the 2025 Wyoming Legislature on Wednesday saw heated testimony on ballot drop boxes and property tax relief. Extending a ban on transgender sports participation through the college level also passed the House and to the Senate.
• A few bills that would provide major property tax relief to Wyoming homeowners are quickly making their way through the legislative process with little opposition. None of the two largest bills would provide a full backfill for the local governments and schools that would receive significantly less tax revenue as a result of the cuts.
• Emotions were high Wednesday during a debate over the legality of ballot drop boxes, with Secretary of State Chuck Gray and some of Wyoming’s county clerks accusing each other of “gaslighting” the issue. A bill to ban the boxes passed a House committee 8-1.
• After the success of a one-room schoolhouse in remote north Albany County, Wyoming is poised for more across the state. A bill to create more rural schools passed the House Education Committee unanimously Wednesday.
• A House committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would require women to get ultrasounds no less than 48 hours before being prescribed abortion pills. House Bill 64 passed 7-1, but not before contentious testimony for and against it.
• If it becomes law, House Bill 135 would require blood banks to transfer the blood people's loved ones donate to them for specific procedures. It cleared a Wyoming House committee Wednesday amid some safety and government overreach concerns.
• Legislation preventing state and private landowners from selling their land in Wyoming to the federal government without a corresponding decrease in federal land passed the House on third reading on a 35-26 vote. A few different amendments brought to limit the bill to the sale of state lands were all rejected.
• A bill extending a ban on transgender participation in female athletics to the collegiate level passed the Senate on Wednesday on third reading on a 27-3 vote. It will now move to the House where it will likely receive an even more supportive audience.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
