The most disturbing trend I see in the Wyoming legislature, and elsewhere, is the concerted effort to limit input into legislation. Instead of trying to understand all of the implications of a particular piece of legislation, certain legislators are trying to muzzle the input they don’t like.
Someone pointing out weaknesses in a particular proposed law is not an insult, it is a gift – a gift that only makes the proposed legislation stronger.
Muzzling opposing points of view is a sign of insecurity and weakness.
Silencing critics by passing a law to silence them is a frightening legislative trend. A couple bills from this interim stand out.
The first bill, considered by the Corporations Committee in May and August, 2022SF144, seeks to prohibit funds of local governments from being used to join an association of other government entities that lobby the legislature.
The second bill, considered by the Corporations Committee in August, 26LSO-0052, seeks to make the private records of a private organization subject to the Wyoming Public Records Act.
Both pieces of legislation are disturbing for different reasons.
Let’s examine a little background first.
Wyoming governmental entities have formed associations to educate their membership on trends, teach about new laws affecting their government and providing a means communicate concerns about pending legislation to the legislature.
Different levels of government have gotten together, organically, to learn, communicate and share interests. Why reinvent the wheel when someone else has already done it?
Several of these organizations have been formed over the years to help facilitate better government.
The Wyoming Association of Municipalities (“WAM”) is a nonprofit organization comprised of the mayors and city councils of all of the towns in Wyoming.
The organization is governed by the municipalities, and develops its policy positions through input from all of the cities and towns in Wyoming. WAM is not governed by and does not take direction from some outside national organization.
Similarly, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (“WCCA”) is governed by and represents the interests of each of the 23 counties in Wyoming. Their policy positions are created through the input and vote of Wyoming County Commissioners.
Another organization the legislature is seeking to defund is the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (“WASCOP’).
In addition to educating its members, WASCOP provides timely input to the legislature on trends in crime, effects of proposed criminal statutes and the needs of law enforcement to prevent and punish crime.
The Wyoming Hospital Association (“WHA”) is also on the chopping block. WHA monitors both federal and state legislation. It informs the legislature on the effects of proposed legislation on healthcare in Wyoming.
Like all of the organizations described, WHA is governed through the input of governing boards of Wyoming governmental hospitals.
It is not a slave to any outside or national organization.
Good policy makers should want input on the effects of their decisions from informed parties serving on the front lines. They should want as much of the best information available to understand the effects of their decisions.
Government bodies at every level have a vested interest in informing the legislature of the effects of a particular course of action.
By silencing these critics, the legislature gets to act on half the information. The legislature is hurtling toward a policy landscape in which it hears what it wants to hear, and not what it needs to hear.
Questions arise.
Who wants to make policy based on half the information? What power grab is behind stopping careful consideration of Wyoming laws?
If the organizations get gagged, larger communities probably have enough funds in their budgets to send representatives to the legislature to testify on the effects of new laws. But smaller rural communities are left out in the cold. Communities like Hulett, Dubois, Alpine or Ranchester are left without a voice in the legislature.
Small counties like Niobrara, Washakie or Big Horn, with already tight budgets, would have their input silenced.
And what of struggling hospitals? No input.
The politicos try to demonize these organizations by calling them by the name, “Lobbyist.” They try to conjure the image of Aaron Eckhart's slick character in the movie “Thank You for Smoking.”
What these organizations really comprise are groups of concerned local officials, trying to give the best information to state-level policymakers. Our local government officials deserve better than to be demonized.
They deserve to be heard.
The citizens of Wyoming deserve better than a legislature that seeks to hide from its critics and move ahead with ill-considered legislation.
Our policymakers deserve the best information available. Wyoming citizens deserve carefully considered laws.
Anything less is simply a political power grab designed to keep certain people in charge while victimizing us all.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 - 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
