Tuesday, March 25, 2025

The Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 general session has ended

The Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 general session has ended: Lawmakers adjourned Thursday.

Wyo File.

Thank goodness.

Now it's a matter of seeing what remaining bills are signed by Governor Gordon, or allowed into law without his signature, or veteod.

Probably the least impressive legislature since the Johnson County War. Still, a lot of the really bad legislation died.

Joan Barron: Maybe Next Year Will Be Better

March 13, 2025

Gordon Vetoes Attempt To Defund His Energy Project Program

March 17, 2025

Governor vetoes Wyoming lawmakers’ bill declaring abortion is not health care: Mark Gordon's decision comes as Wyoming Supreme Court prepares to hear challenge to two 2023 abortion bans.

March 19, 2025

Governor Gordon Defends Law Enforcement in Veto of Problematic Second Amendment Bill

Governor signs bills banning sanctuary cities and ranked-choice voting

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – In a public ceremony that included members of state, county, and municipal law enforcement, the Governor signed a letter vetoing Senate File 196 - Second Amendment Protection Act - amendments, calling the bill “overkill” that would punish first responders and threaten the cooperative work between Wyoming law enforcement officers and their federal partners.

“This Act takes aim at – and potentially vilifies – law enforcement if, in the process of working to apprehend, prosecute, and detain illegal aliens, drug mules, human traffickers, abusers, and other miscreants, they cooperate with the federal government and a gun is involved. Wyoming can do better,” the Governor wrote.

Governor Gordon also signed nine bills today, including legislation banning sanctuary cities in Wyoming, prohibiting the use of private funds for elections, and a prohibition on ranked-choice voting.

The Governor also exercised his line-item veto authority on Senate File 169 - Strategic investments and projects account-repeal. The Governor left in place $10 million for the siting, design, construction, and operation of a new State Shooting Complex. However, he questioned the inclusion of the shooting complex by usurping the supplemental budget process, while the Legislature chose not to fund other capital construction projects, including a new veterans home.

In his letter vetoing Sections 1, 2, and 3 of SF 169, the Governor says he has always supported simplicity in budgeting, but the repeal of the Strategic investments and projects (SIPA) account removes the ability of the Governor to use investment income that should be available to any Governor in recommending a budget.

“The effort seems counterintuitive and parochial, serving only the narrow focus of withholding revenue from the Executive Branch budgeting process while preserving it exclusively for the legislature’s priorities,” Governor Gordon wrote. “Wyoming is required to balance its budget with expenditures not exceeding income. That effort has always been a joint effort. Artificially constraining income to one branch breaks with that practice and will not necessarily result in a cleaner or a leaner budget.”

The Governor also vetoed Section 4 in the Act, which would have terminated the Wyoming State Penitentiary Account (WSPA), a subaccount of the SIPA. The preservation of the account will enable the Department of Corrections to fund integrated security improvements.

The Governor signed the following bills today:

Enrolled Act Bill # Bill Title

HEA0062 HB0318 Maintenance of voter lists.

HEA0065 HB0228 Prohibition on private funds for conducting elections.

HEA0071 HB0165 Ranked choice voting-prohibition.

HEA0076 HB0133 Sanctuary cities, counties and state-prohibition.

SEA0073 SF0174 Constitutional apportionment of legislators.

SEA0074 SF0166 Political party formation-amendments.

SEA0077 SF0057 911 service reporting.

SEA0081 SF0032 Unpaved roads speed limits-amendments.

SEA0090 SF0160 Treatment courts-amendments-2.

The Governor vetoed the following bill. Click on the bill for the Governor’s letter:

SEA0082 SF0196 Second Amendment Protection Act-amendments.

The Governor exercised his line-item veto authority on the following bill. Click on the bill for the Governor’s letter.

SEA0098 SF0169 Strategic investments and projects account-repeal.

The full text of all bills can be found on the Wyoming Legislature’s website. A list of bills the Governor has taken action on during the 2025 Legislative Session can be found on the Governor's website.

Banning ranked choice voting, done by this bill, really sucks and is anti democratic:

ORIGINAL House 
Bill No. HB0165
 
ENROLLED ACT NO. 71, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 General Session

AN ACT relating to elections; clarifying that elections shall not be conducted by ranked choice voting; clarifying that ballots are required to specify only one (1) vote per office to be filled; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1. W.S. 22‑2‑117(a) and 22‑6‑120(a)(xii) are amended to read:

22‑2‑117. Vote required for election; ratification.

(a) Partisan and nonpartisan candidates who receive the largest number of votes for each office to be filled at the general election are elected. Nothing in this election code shall be deemed to authorize any election in Wyoming to be conducted through ranked choice voting. Any existing or future ordinance enacted or adopted by a county, municipality or any other governmental entity that purports to authorize ranked choice voting in violation of this subsection is void. As used in this subsection, "ranked choice voting" means a voting method that allows voters to rank candidates for an office in order of preference and has ballots cast to be tabulated in multiple rounds following the elimination of a candidate until the candidate or candidates with the most votes are declared winners, or any other system that allows a voter to vote for more than the number of candidates permitted to fill a particular office.

22‑6‑120. Format of general election ballot.

(a) The general election ballot shall be printed in substantial compliance with this format:

(xii) Adjacent to the description of any office shall be printed "Vote for one" or if the office is to be filled by more than one (1) candidate shall be printed "Vote For Not More Than", then the appropriate words and figures designating the proper number to be elected;

Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2025.

(END)

March 23, 2025

Forum shopping effort fails, as is obvious that it would:

Judge dismisses suit against Wyoming’s new anti-abortion laws: In Teton County, Judge Owens rules that the attempt to challenge two new laws properly belongs in Natrona County, site of the affected Wellspring clinic.

Making Wyoming's voting process more cumbersome to address a non existent problem here:

Governor allows proof of voter residency, citizenship requirement to become law without signature: Mark Gordon questioned the legality of the bill’s 30-day durational residency requirement.

March 25, 2025