• The Wyoming House is starting to get concerned with how long its counterparts in the Senate have been holding on to the supplemental budget without taking any action on it, now reaching two weeks.
• While most of the public’s attention has been on a proposed 50% property tax cut moving through the Wyoming Legislature, another bill proposes a much larger overhaul of the system. It would base property taxes on a home’s purchase price, similar to auto registrations.
• For the second year in a row, the Wyoming Legislature is close to giving Gov. Mark Gordon a bill to eliminate gun-free zones in the state. Gordon vetoed it last year, but isn’t saying if he’ll sign, veto or let it pass without a signature this year.
• A bill to ban DEI programs and policies from Wyoming agencies — with exceptions for nonprofits that get public money — easily passed a House committee Friday.
• The pornography industry did not show up to challenge a Wyoming bill that would require porn websites to verify ages with IDs before allowing access.
• A bill creating an up to 20-year prison sentence for adults who communicate with minors about sexual activity was rejected by the Senate on a 26-4 vote, with opponents saying it is repetitive with existing law.
• The Senate passed a bill on a 24-7 vote that would regulate surgical abortion facilities as ambulatory surgical centers in Wyoming. The bill will next head to the House for concurrence.
• The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee considered a bill Friday that aims to clarify abortion is not health care, and thereby outlaw the practice. Supporters of the bill said on Friday however they don’t believe the bill as currently written achieves this goal and is meaningless.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
