Government & Politics
News

House Passes Bill Giving State Agencies Blank Check To Pay Moving Expenses For New Employees
Showing nobodys immune to a nationwide hiring squeeze, the Wyoming Legislature on Tuesday advanced a bill allowing state agency heads carte blanche in paying moving expenses for new hires.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 21, 2023

Tribal Hunting Bill Killed Despite Push From Governor Gordon
The Wyoming Senate on Tuesday voted down a bill that would have given Gov. Mark Gordon the ability to make agreements with tribes specifying special, off-reservation hunting rights some tribal members have through their federal treaties.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 21, 2023

Liz Cheney Reemerges To Blast Marjorie Taylor-Greene
Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney reemerged on Monday and tweeted for the first time since leaving office. Cheney criticized Marjorie Taylor-Greene for saying the country needed a "national divorce."
Jimmy OrrFebruary 21, 2023

Wyoming Prisons Says It Did Not Fire Black Female Warden Because Of Race, Sex
The Wyoming Department of Corrections said the firing of its first Black female warden wasn't an act of discrimination. They said Ruby Ziegler was "terminated for legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons."
Clair McFarlandFebruary 20, 2023

Wyoming Legislator Says He Was Threatened To Be Removed From Committee Over ‘No’ Vote
A question of how loyal Wyoming legislators should be to their assigned committees vs. voting their conscience came to a head this past week when Joint Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Art Washut called out Rep. Mark Jennings for voting against a bill the committee sponsored. Jennings said he was threatened to be removed over his no vote.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 18, 2023

Wyoming Game Wardens May Get Authority To Ticket Trespassers As Bill Revived
A bill that would Wyoming game wardens broader authority to cite trespasses, which died in committee on Tuesday, was resurrected Friday by the same Wyoming House Committee.
Mark HeinzFebruary 17, 2023

Bill Allowing Hounds To Chase Mountain Lions Gets OK From Wyoming House
A bill that would allow houndsmen to run their dogs after mountain lions outside of regular hunting season passed its first reading before the Wyoming House on Thursday.
Mark HeinzFebruary 17, 2023

Wyoming Senate Sides With Governor Over Tribe, Advances Tribal Hunt Bill
Though members of multiple tribes oppose it, the state Senate on Thursday advanced a bill giving Gov. Mark Gordon authority to establish hunting agreements with tribes whose treaties contain special hunting rights.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 17, 2023

Legislature Signs Off On $1.8 Billion Budget Package, Including $1.4 Billion In Savings
Having experienced plenty of rainy days in recent years, Wyoming legislators are saving for when the states economy storms again, socking away $1.4 billion into savings in the 2023 supplemental budget, which passed the Legislature on Thursday.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 17, 2023

Resurrected Bill To End Crossover Voting Still Alive, Advances To Senate Floor
Voters changing parties on primary election day closer to being history as Wyoming lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill to end the practice. House Bill 103 had been dead until it was resurrected through a rarely used rule.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 17, 2023

Lawmakers Argue Over Committee Assignment For Child Sex Change Bill
Some Wyoming lawmakers Thursday challenged state House leadership over which committee should hear Chloe's Law, which would prevent doctors from performing or prescribing transgender-related treatments for kids.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 17, 2023

Sen. Affie Ellis Brings Dirt From Sutton Archaeological Site To Wyoming Capitol
House lawmakers continued to advance a bill that would fence a special archaeological site in Wyoming adjacent to the Powers II red ochre mine. The site has large ceremonial circles that could prove significant in understanding the states earliest inhabitants.
Renée JeanFebruary 17, 2023

Bill Would Honor Former Gov. Who Fought McCarthyism, Wanted To Kick Japanese Americans Out Of Wyoming
Despite a less-than-ideal track record in the eyes of history, state Sen. Cale Case says Lester Hunt deserves official recognition for a career of public service as a former Wyoming secretary of state, governor and U.S. senator.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 16, 2023

Wyoming Lawmakers Spar Over Child Marriage, Scolded By Senate President
The Wyoming Senate on Thursday resoundingly passed a bill banning marriages for children 15 and younger after an argument about whether the bill's sponsor would be willing to change it to allow anyone younger than 18 to marry with permission of both a judge and a parent.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 16, 2023

Drug Court Oversight, Money For Coal Lawsuits Among First Bills To Get Gordon’s Signature
The first bills to work through the Wyoming Legislature this session were signed by Gov. Mark Gordon on Wednesday in a ceremony at the Capitol in Cheyenne.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 16, 2023

Wyoming Bighorn Ram Hunts Will Remain ‘Once-In-A-Lifetime’ Opportunity
Hunters who are lucky enough to draw a tag for a Rocky Mountain bighorn ram in Wyoming, but are unsuccessful in shooting one, will die never getting that chance again. A bill that would have allowed hunters to qualify for tags again died on Wednesday.
Mark HeinzFebruary 16, 2023

After Stripped Of Funding, Expiration Date Put On Wyoming Suicide Call Centers Bill
A bill originally intended to support Wyomings suicide call centers in perpetuity with a dedicated trust fund has been amended to do almost the opposite.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 15, 2023

Lawmakers Advance Law To Keep Indian Children Out Of Non-Native Foster Homes
The House Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill continuing a hotly disputed federal law designed to keep Indian children out of non-native foster and guardian homes, whether the children live on Indian reservations or not.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 15, 2023

Harriet Hageman Endorses Trump For President In 2024
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman on Wednesday announced she is endorsing former President Donald Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 15, 2023

Bill Allowing Wyoming Dairy Farmers To Sell Milk At Stores Passes Committee
While some dairy farmers in Wyoming are running a black market selling milk through third parties, a bill that would make those sales legal has cleared a state House committee.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 15, 2023

Lawmakers Reject Legislation That Would Outlaw School Spankings In Wyoming
The Wyoming House of Representatives has rejected a bill that would have removed legal protections for school staffers who spank kids, saying the bill is vague in defining what constitutes corporal punishment.
Clair McFarlandFebruary 15, 2023

Gordon To Sign First Bills Of 2023 Legislative Session Into Law On Wednesday
Now in the second month of the Wyoming Legislature's 2023 session, Gov. Mark Gordon is expected Wednesday to sign the first three bills that have so far made it to his desk.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 15, 2023

Back From The Dead: Wyoming Senate Resurrects Effort To Stop Crossover Voting
A bill that would make it illegal for voters to change party affiliation after candidates announce theyre running for office had been killed by the Wyoming Legislature. But the state Senate revived it Tuesday.
Leo WolfsonFebruary 15, 2023

Posting Bogus ‘No Trespassing’ Signs Could Cost $10,000 First Time, $50,000 For Repeats
A bill that would make it a crime to post no trespassing signs on public land calls for fines of $10,000 for a first offense, $50,000 for more moves forward. Another bill that would have given game wardens broader authority to ticket trespassers has died.
Mark HeinzFebruary 14, 2023
