The date was notable as, like this year, there was one. Most years, there isn't.
The House of Representatives used the extra day for the very popular slashing of income taxes.
Erich Ludendorff took the stand on his defense for treason in Munich, declaring that "We want a Germany free of Marxism, semitism, and papal influences."
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On oil, the issue had an Autocar Truck advertisement advertising gas and electric trucks. . . the latter being something that locals now insist just can't happen.
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The legislature convene on February 12, and the committees are presently busy for this year's budget session.
As political junkies know, every other session of the legislature if a budget session, which theoretically means that the salon only deals with the budget. The assembly can consider regular bills, but it requires more support to put the bills out on the floor, so its more difficult.
Some bills have been kicked around in the news, but that doesn't really mean that they're going to be out on the floor, so it can be a bit confusing. One such bill is this one, which was reported on in one of the online journals today.
A complete list of bills, at the time of this post, are below:
HB0002 Nonresident fishing license fee increase. Travel Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
HB0003 Property tax exemption for long-term homeowners. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
HB0004 Property tax refund program. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
HB0005 Behavioral health redesign amendments. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
HB0006 Light and high profile vehicle closures. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0007 Alternative fuel tax-electricity amendments. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0008 Commercial driver license-hazardous materials endorsement. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0009 Fuel tax-licensee information deadline. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0010 Grace period-state land lease renewals. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0011 State land lease amendments. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0012 Wyoming dairy marketing act-repeal. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0013 Flow-through pools-exemption. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/05/2023
HB0014 Prior authorization regulations. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023
HB0015 Health insurance-reimbursement of overpayments. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023
HB0016 Sutton state archaeological site-legal description. Travel Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023
HB0017 Fishing outfitters and guides-registration of fishing boats. Travel Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023
HB0018 Property tax-inflation cap. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023
HB0019 Education savings accounts. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/12/2023
HB0020 School finance-regional cost adjustment study. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/12/2023
HB0021 Charter school leasing. Sel Sch Fac Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023
HB0022 Sales tax revisions. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/15/2023
HB0023 Vehicle registration e-certificate and grace period. Larson, JT Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0024 Certificate of need repeal. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0025 Medicaid-third party payor conditions. Labor Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0026 Emergency protective services-effective period. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0027 DFS and law enforcement-cross reporting. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0028 Interference with parent-child contact. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0029 Cold case database and investigations. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0030 Controlled Substances Act-possession amendments. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0031 Peace officers-records and reporting. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/21/2023
HB0032 Geologic sequestration-unitization amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0033 Mining operations-blasting requirements. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0034 Solid waste municipal cease and transfer funding. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0035 Limitation on environmental rulemaking. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0036 Natural Resource Protection Act. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0037 Election offenses-intimidation. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0038 Voter qualifications-durational residency requirement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0039 Campaign reporting. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0040 School district trustee oath of office. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0041 Candidates for state legislature-residency requirement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0042 Prohibition on private funds for conducting elections. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0043 State forestry good neighbor-positions. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
HB0044 Parental rights in minor child’s health care. Labor Bill Number Assigned 01/04/2024
HB0045 Property tax exemption-residential structures. Crago Bill Number Assigned 01/05/2024
HB0046 Chancery court-timeline for resolution of disputes. Walters Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024
HB0047 Solid waste-illegal dumping remediation grants. Penn Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024
HB0048 Renaming the deaf, dumb and blind account. Conrad Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
HB0049 By the people act. Penn Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
HB0050 What is a Woman Act. Ward Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
HB0051 Public indecency-intimidation. Neiman Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
HB0052 Property tax-homestead exemption. Sommers Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024
HB0053 Public health emergency-definition amendments. Ward Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024
HB0054 Wyoming Reads Day. Washut Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024
HB0055 State budgeting and reserves-account repeal. Cap Fin & Inv Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024
HB0056 State budgeting and reserves-general funds. Cap Fin & Inv Bill Number Assigned 01/10/2024
HJ0001 Property tax-classes of property and residential value. Revenue Bill Number Assigned 12/11/2023
HJ0002 Political expenditures. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 01/03/2024
SF0003 State employee leave for volunteer fire or volunteer EMS. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0004 Rehiring retired firefighters-continued retirement benefits. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0005 Organ transplant recipient protection. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0006 Nursing home administrators-temporary licenses. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0007 Behavioral health redesign-vulnerable adults. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0008 Health insurance for volunteer emergency responders. Labor Bill Number Assigned 11/30/2023
SF0009 Parental rights in education-1. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0010 Eminent domain-energy collector systems. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0011 Eminent domain energy collector systems amendments. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0012 Meat processing plants-hides and carcasses. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0013 Federal land use plans-legal actions authorized. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0014 State fair board-powers and responsibilities. Agriculture Bill Number Assigned 12/04/2023
SF0015 Acceptance of retrocession-federal military installations. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023
SF0016 Military department emergency fire suppression account. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023
SF0017 Plane coordinates system-amendments. Transportation Bill Number Assigned 12/07/2023
SF0018 Indian child welfare act-safe haven amendments. Tribal Relations Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023
SF0019 Developmental preschool funding. Education Bill Number Assigned 12/14/2023
SF0020 Electricity rates for costs that do not benefit Wyoming. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0021 Public utilities-net power cost sharing ratio. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0022 Public service commission-electricity reliability. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0023 Public utilities-energy resource procurement. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0024 Public service commission-integrated resource plans. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0025 Reclamation and decommissioning costs. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0026 Special district vacancies. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0027 Special districts bond elections exception. Corporations Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0028 Federal natural resource management coordinator. Fed Nat Res Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0029 Major political parties-state central party voting members. Case Bill Number Assigned 12/18/2023
SF0030 Influencing jurors and witnesses-judges amendment. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0031 Sex offender registration-promoting obscenity. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0032 Hemp-limitations on psychoactive substances. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0033 Wyoming rural attorney recruitment program. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0034 Sex offender registration-registerable offenses. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0035 Public records-DOC investigations. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0036 Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act. Judiciary Bill Number Assigned 12/19/2023
SF0037 Indian child welfare act-delinquency amendments. Tribal Relations Bill Number Assigned 12/26/2023
SF0038 Financial reporting amendments-2. Mgt Audit Bill Number Assigned 01/04/2024
SF0039 Firefighters recruitment film. Labor Bill Number Assigned 01/05/2024
SF0040 Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund Administration. Travel Bill Number Assigned 01/08/2024
SF0041 Banking division-classification and salary exemptions. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
SF0042 Low-carbon reliable energy standards-amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
SF0043 Pore space-severances and separate conveyances prohibited. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
SF0044 Limited mining operations-amendments. Minerals Bill Number Assigned 01/09/2024
Some interesting ones:
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0344
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0036
Natural Resource Protection Act.
Sponsored by: Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to protection of constitutional rights; providing a declaration of authority and policy; prohibiting the enforcement of federal rules or regulations regarding federal land management as specified; providing an exception; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 9‑14‑301 through 9‑14‑303 are created to read:
ARTICLE 3
NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION ACT
9‑14‑301. Short title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Natural Resource Protection Act."
9‑14‑302. Declaration of authority and policy.
(a) The Natural Resource Protection Act is enacted under the authority of the tenth amendment to the United States constitution and Wyoming's agreement with the United States that the state adopted when it joined the union under the United States constitution's system of dual sovereignty.
(b) The legislature finds and declares:
(i) The federal government shall comply with federal law when administering federal lands;
(ii) The federal government arbitrarily restricting significant amounts of federal lands from public use is contrary to managing federal land under principles of multiple use and sustained yield;
(iii) Any failure by the federal government to abide by the law undermines the rule of law that is vital to our system of government.
9‑14‑303. Prohibiting the enforcement of federal regulation regarding federal land management; penalty.
(a) Upon a determination by the governor, with advice from the attorney general, that an executive order, final rule or regulation of the federal government does not comply with federal laws regarding federal land management and upon providing notice, this state and all political subdivisions of this state shall not use any personnel, funds appropriated by the legislature or any other source of funds that originate within the state of Wyoming to enforce or administer that federal executive order, final rule or regulation. The governor shall not revoke a valid primacy agreement with a federal agency over the regulation and enforcement of a federal law or program until a court of competent jurisdiction determines the federal executive order, final rule or regulation is unlawful.
(b) Nothing in this act shall limit or restrict a public officer, as defined by W.S. 6‑5‑101(a)(v), from providing assistance to federal authorities for purposes not specifically identified in subsection (a) of this section. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit any governmental entity from accepting federal funds for law enforcement purposes.
Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2024.
This is probably an illegal proposal, given as it intrudes on Federal supremacy.
One addressing residence requirements for running for office has been introduced.
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
4LSO-0094
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0041
Candidates for state legislature-residency requirement.
Sponsored by: Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Interim Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to elections; clarifying the residency requirement for candidates for the state legislature; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 22‑5‑102(a)(intro) and (ii) is amended to read:
22‑5‑102. Eligibility to be a candidate for state legislature; residency.
(a) For the purpose of meeting residency requirements of the Wyoming constitution, a person shall not be a candidate for the state legislature from a legislative district unless he has been a resident of that legislative district for at least one (1) year next preceding his before the date of the applicable general election. In any general election year in which a plan of legislative districts is required but has not been enacted into law at least one (1) year prior to the applicable filing periods, a person may be a candidate for the state legislature from a legislative district if he:
(ii) Has been a resident of a county for at least one (1) year next preceding his before the date of the applicable general election in which any portion of that legislative district is located.
Section 2. This act is effective July 1, 2024.
One that has already been reported on:
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0050
What is a Woman Act.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Ward, Allemand, Angelos, Bear, Haroldson, Hornok, Jennings, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Penn, Rodriguez-Williams, Slagle, Smith and Strock
A BILL
fod
AN ACT relating to common law, statutes and rules of construction; specifying definitions and standards for the application of a person's biological sex in law, rules or regulations; providing for the law to distinguish between accommodations for males and females; requiring the collection of vital statistics and other data to identify persons as male or female at birth; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 8‑1‑110 is created to read:
8‑1‑110. References to males and females; separate accommodations for males and females; data reporting requirements.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to the application of a person's biological sex under any law or rule and regulation in this state, the following definitions and standards shall apply:
(i) A person's "sex" means the person's biological sex, either male or female, at birth;
(ii) "Female" means a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova and/or who exhibits XX chromosomes and does not exhibit a Y chromosome;
(iii) "Male" means a person whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female and/or who exhibits XY chromosomes or exhibits a Y chromosome;
(iv) The terms "woman" and "girl" refer to human females, and the terms "man" and "boy" refer to human males;
(v) "Mother" means a parent of the female sex;
(vi) "Father" means a parent of the male sex;
(vii) With respect to biological sex, the term "equal" does not mean "same" or "identical";
(viii) With respect to biological sex, separate accommodations are not inherently unequal; and
(ix) A person born with a medically recognized condition of a "disorder or difference in sex development" shall be provided legal protections and accommodations afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and any other applicable Wyoming law.
(b) The legislature finds that laws, rules and regulations that distinguish between the sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny. Intermediate constitutional scrutiny forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated male and female persons but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where such distinctions are substantially related to important governmental objectives.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, laws, rules and regulations that recognize or enforce distinctions between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons or other detention facilities, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, locker rooms, restrooms and other areas where safety or privacy are implicated and that result in separate accommodations between the sexes are substantially related to the important governmental objectives of protecting the health, safety and privacy of persons in such circumstances.
(d) Any school district, or public school thereof, and any state agency, department, office or other political subdivision that collects vital statistics for the purpose of complying with anti‑discrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic or other data shall identify each person who is part of the collected data set as either male or female consistent with the persons sex at birth.
Section 2. This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution
The bill is presently with the LSO.
An attorney recruitment bill has been proposed.
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0061
SENATE FILE NO. SF0033
Wyoming rural attorney recruitment program.
Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to attorneys-at-law; establishing the rural attorney recruitment pilot program; specifying eligibility requirements for counties and attorneys to participate in the program; specifying administration, oversight and payment obligations for the program; requiring reports; providing a sunset date for the program; authorizing the adoption of rules, policies and procedures; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 33‑5‑201 through 33‑5‑203 are created to read:
ARTICLE 2
RURAL ATTORNEY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM
33‑5‑201. Rural attorney recruitment program established; findings; program requirements; county qualifications; annual reports.
(a) In light of the shortage of attorneys practicing law in rural Wyoming counties, the legislature finds that the establishment of a rural attorney recruitment program constitutes a valid public purpose, of primary benefit to the citizens of the state of Wyoming.
(b) The Wyoming state bar may establish a rural attorney recruitment program to assist rural Wyoming counties in recruiting attorneys to practice law in those counties.
(c) Each county eligible under this subsection may apply to the Wyoming state bar to participate in the program. A county is eligible to participate in the program if the county:
(i) Has a population of not greater than twenty‑five thousand (25,000);
(ii) Has an average of not greater than one and one‑half (1.5) qualified attorneys in the county for every one thousand (1,000) residents. As used in this paragraph, "qualified attorney" means an attorney who provides legal services to private citizens on a fee basis for an average of not less than twenty (20) hours per week. "Qualified attorney" shall not include an attorney who is a full‑time judge, prosecutor, public defender, judicial clerk, in‑house counsel, trust officer and any licensed attorney who is in retired status or who is not engaged in the practice of law;
(iii) Agrees to provide the county share of the incentive payment required under this article;
(iv) Is determined to be eligible to participate in the program by the Wyoming state bar.
(d) Before determining a county's eligibility, the Wyoming state bar shall conduct an assessment to evaluate the county's need for an attorney and the county's ability to sustain and support an attorney. The Wyoming state bar shall maintain a list of counties that have been assessed and are eligible to participate in the program under this article. The Wyoming state bar may revise any county assessment or conduct a new assessment as the Wyoming State bar deems necessary to reflect any change in a county's eligibility.
(e) In selecting eligible counties to participate in the program, the Wyoming state bar shall consider:
(i) The county's demographics;
(ii) The number of attorneys in the county and the number of attorneys projected to be practicing in the county over the next five (5) years;
(iii) Any recommendations from the district judges and circuit judges of the county;
(iv) The county's economic development programs;
(v) The county's geographical location relative to other counties participating in the program;
(vi) An evaluation of any attorney or applicant for admission to the state bar seeking to practice in the county as a program participant, including the attorney's or applicant's previous or existing ties to the county;
(vii) Any prior participation of the county in the program;
(viii) Any other factor that the Wyoming state bar deems necessary.
(f) A participating eligible county may enter into agreements to assist the county in meeting the county's obligations for participating in the program.
(g) Not later than October 1, 2024 and each October 1 thereafter that the program is in effect, the Wyoming state bar shall submit an annual report to the joint judiciary interim committee on the activities of the program. Each report shall include information on the number of attorneys and counties participating in the program, the amount of incentive payments made to attorneys under the program, the general status of the program and any recommendations for continuing, modifying or ending the program.
33‑5‑202. Rural attorney recruitment program; attorney requirements; incentive payments; termination of program.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any attorney licensed to practice law in Wyoming or an applicant for admission to the Wyoming state bar may apply to the Wyoming state bar to participate in the rural attorney recruitment program established under this article. No attorney or applicant shall participate in the program if the attorney or applicant has previously participated in the program or has previously participated in any other state or federal scholarship, loan repayment or tuition reimbursement program that obligated the attorney to provide legal services in an underserved area.
(b) Not more than five (5) attorneys shall participate in the program established under this article at any one (1) time.
(c) Subject to available funding and as consideration for providing legal services in an eligible county, each attorney approved by the Wyoming state bar to participate in the program shall be entitled to receive an incentive payment in five (5) equal annual installments. Each annual incentive payment shall be paid on or after July 1 of each year. Each annual incentive payment shall be in an amount equal to ninety percent (90%) of the University of Wyoming college of law resident tuition for thirty (30) credit hours and annual fees as of July 1, 2024.
(d) Subject to available funding, the supreme court shall make each incentive payment to the participating attorney. The Wyoming state bar and each participating county shall remit its share of the incentive payment to the supreme court in a manner and by a date specified by the supreme court. The Wyoming state bar shall certify to the supreme court that a participating attorney has completed all annual program requirements and that the participating attorney is entitled to the incentive payment for the applicable year. The responsibility for incentive payments under this section shall be as follows:
(i) Fifty percent (50%) of the incentive payments shall be from funds appropriated to the supreme court;
(ii) Thirty‑five percent (35%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by each county paying for attorneys participating in the program in the county;
(iii) Fifteen percent (15%) of the incentive payments shall be provided by the Wyoming state bar from nonstate funds.
(e) Subject to available funding for the program, each attorney participating in the program shall enter into an agreement with the supreme court, the participating county and the Wyoming state bar that obligates the attorney to practice law full‑time in the participating county for not less than five (5) years. As part of the agreement required under this subsection, each participating attorney shall agree to reside in the participating county for the period in which the attorney practices law in the participating county under the program. No agreement shall be effective until it is filed with and approved by the Wyoming state bar.
(f) Any attorney who receives an incentive payment under this article and subsequently breaches the agreement entered into under subsection (e) of this section shall repay all funds received under this article pursuant to terms and conditions established by the supreme court. Failure to repay funds as required by this subsection shall subject the attorney to license suspension.
(g) The Wyoming state bar may promulgate any policies or procedures necessary to implement this article. The supreme court may promulgate any rules necessary to implement this article.
(h) The program established under this article shall cease on June 30, 2029, provided that attorneys participating in the program as of June 30, 2029 shall complete their obligation and receive payments as authorized by this article.
33‑5‑203. Sunset.
(a) W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 are repealed effective July 1, 2029.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, attorneys participating in the rural attorney pilot program authorized in W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 shall complete the requirements of the program and shall be entitled to the authorized payments in accordance with W.S. 33‑5‑201 and 33‑5‑202 as provided on June 30, 2029.
Section 2. There is appropriated one hundred ninety‑seven thousand three hundred seventy‑five dollars ($197,375.00) from the general fund to the supreme court for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2029 to be expended only for purposes of providing incentive payments for the rural attorney recruitment program established under this act. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose. Notwithstanding W.S. 9‑2‑1008, 9‑2‑1012(e) and 9‑4‑207, this appropriation shall not revert until June 30, 2029.
Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2024.
What will really be required to address this need is to do away with the UBE or bar exams of that type, as we've written about before.
January 23, 2024.
The legislature will consider Chloe's law again this session:
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0003
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0063
Sex and gender changes for children-prohibited.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Larsen, L and Stith and Senator(s) Baldwin, Dockstader and Schuler
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment; providing exceptions; providing definitions; specifying applicability; authorizing rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 35‑4‑1001 is created to read:
ARTICLE 10
GENDER‑RELATED PROCEDURES
35‑4‑1001. Gender reassignment procedures for children prohibited.
(a) As used in this section:
(i) "Child" means a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age;
(ii) "Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine in this state by the state board of medicine under the Medical Practice Act.
(b) No physician shall, for purposes of transitioning a child's biological sex to a sex different than the sex assigned at birth as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes and endogenous profiles of the child, or for purposes of affirming the child's perception of the child's sex if that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex:
(i) Perform a surgery that sterilizes the child, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty and vaginoplasty;
(ii) Perform a mastectomy.
(c) This section shall not apply to:
(i) Procedures or treatments that are performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and are for a child who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, including but not limited to 46, XX chromosomes with virilization, 46, XY with undervirilization or both ovarian and testicular tissue;
(ii) Any procedure or treatment that is performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and is for a child with medically verifiable central precocious puberty.
Section 2. W.S. 35‑4‑1001, as created by section 1 of this act, shall apply only to conduct or procedures occurring on and after the effective date of this act.
Section 3. The state board of medicine may promulgate any rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 4.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2024.
(b) Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
Seeking to keep themselves an irrelevant minority in the legislature, Democrats have introduced an ifanticide protection bill.
2024
STATE OF WYOMING
24LSO-0264
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0076
Reproductive Freedom Act.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Yin, Chestek, Provenza, Sherwood and Storer and Senator(s) Gierau and Rothfuss
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to abortion; creating the Reproductive Freedom Act; specifying the public policy of the state concerning reproductive rights; prohibiting the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to have an abortion prior to viability of the fetus or to protect the person's life or health; prohibiting unauthorized abortions; specifying a penalty; providing definitions; repealing conflicting provisions; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 35‑6‑140 through 35‑6‑149 are created to read:
35‑6‑140. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Reproductive Freedom Act."
35‑6‑141. Public policy.
(a) It is the public policy of the state of Wyoming that:
(i) Every person has the right to freedom from governmental interference with respect to personal reproductive decisions;
(ii) Every person has the right to choose or refuse birth control;
(iii) Every person has the right to choose or refuse to have an abortion, except as specifically limited by this act;
(iv) The state shall not deny or interfere with a person's right to choose or refuse to have an abortion, except as specifically permitted by this act;
(v) The state shall not discriminate against the exercise of these rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services or information.
35‑6‑142. Definitions.
(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Abortion" means any medical treatment, medication or procedure intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy except for the purpose of producing a live birth;
(ii) "Advanced practice registered nurse" means as defined by W.S. 33‑21‑120(a)(i);
(iii) "Health care provider" means a person who is licensed, certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession;
(iv) "Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine as a physician under the Medical Practice Act, W.S. 33‑26‑101 et seq.;
(v) "Physician assistant" means a person licensed to practice medicine as a physician assistant under the Medical Practice Act, W.S. 33‑26‑101 et seq.;
(vi) "Pregnancy" means the reproductive process beginning with the implantation of an embryo;
(vii) "Private medical facility" means any medical facility that is not owned or operated by the state;
(viii) "State" means the state of Wyoming and any authority, board, commission, department, division or separate operating agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the state of Wyoming, including its political subdivisions;
(ix) "Viability" means the point in the pregnancy when, in the judgment of the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice on the particular facts of the case before the physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the health care provider's scope of practice, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus's sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures;
(x) "This act" means W.S. 35‑6‑140 through 35‑6‑149.
35‑6‑143. Right to have and provide an abortion.
(a) The state shall not deny or interfere with a person's right to have an abortion:
(i) Prior to viability of the fetus; or
(ii) To protect the person's life or health.
(b) A physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice may terminate a pregnancy as permitted by this act.
(c) A health care provider may assist a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the health care provider's scope of practice in terminating a pregnancy as permitted by this act.
35‑6‑144. Unauthorized abortions; penalty.
(a) Unless otherwise authorized by this act, any person who provides medical treatment, provides medication or performs a procedure intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the state shall not penalize, prosecute or otherwise take adverse action against a person for aiding or assisting a person seeking an abortion in exercising the person's right to have an abortion under this act.
(c) Nothing in this act shall be construed to subject a person upon whom any abortion is performed or attempted to any criminal penalty under this act.
35‑6‑145. Defense to prosecution.
The good faith judgment of a physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse or other health care provider acting within the provider's scope of practice as to viability of the fetus or as to the risk to life or health of a person seeking an abortion shall be a complete defense in any proceeding for a violation of this act.
35‑6‑146. State regulation.
(a) Any regulation promulgated by the state relating to abortion shall be valid only if:
(i) The regulation is medically necessary to protect the life or health of the person seeking an abortion;
(ii) The regulation is consistent with established medical practice; and
(iii) Of the available alternatives, the regulation imposes the least restrictions on the person's right to have an abortion under this act.
35‑6‑147. Refusing to participate in an abortion.
(a) No person or private medical facility shall be required by law or contract to participate in the performance of an abortion if the person or private medical facility objects to participating in the performance of an abortion.
(b) No person shall be discriminated against in employment or professional privileges because of the person's participation or refusal to participate in the performance of an abortion.
35‑6‑148. State provided benefits.
If the state provides, directly or by contract, maternity care benefits, services or information through any program administered or funded in whole or in part by the state, the state shall also provide persons otherwise eligible for the program with substantially equivalent benefits, services or information to permit them to voluntarily terminate their pregnancies.
35‑6‑149. Construction.
This act shall not be construed to define the state's interest in the fetus for any purpose other than the specific provisions of this act.
Section 2. W.S. 21‑16‑1801 and 35‑6‑120 through 35‑6‑139 are repealed.
Section 3. This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
February 10, 2024
This one is a surprise:
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0115
Donated blood-mRNA disclosure.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Penn, Angelos, Bear, Davis, Heiner, Hornok, Knapp, Locke, Neiman, Ottman, Pendergraft, Singh, Slagle, Smith, Strock, Styvar, Ward and Winter and Senator(s) Biteman, French, Hutchings and Ide
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; requiring blood donors to disclose vaccination status as specified; requiring blood packaging to be marked as specified; allowing a person who receives a blood transfusion to request the use of certain blood; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 35‑34‑101 is created to read:
CHAPTER 34
BLOOD DONATIONS AND VACCINATIONS
35‑34‑101. Disclosure of mRNA vaccinations for blood donations; labeling; right to request certain blood.
(a) Any person who collects human blood donations for the purpose of providing blood for human blood transfusion shall require blood donors to disclose whether the blood donor has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine during the donor's lifetime.
(b) Blood originating from a donor who has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine shall be conspicuously marked.
(c) In a nonemergency situation, as determined by the person providing medical services, a person receiving a blood transfusion shall have the right to request blood based on whether or not the blood originated from a person who has received a COVID‑19 vaccine or a messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine, as long as the requested blood is available.
Section 2. The department of health shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2024.
I had thought we were largely past the COVID 19 vaccine matter, but this would suggest not. I don't expect this bill to go very far.
Last edition:
Same sort of new speaker.
New Year, new Congress, same old problems
January 3, 2024
Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) is resigning from Congress effective January 21. This leaves the balance in the House at 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats, with three seats still vacant.
The GOP can only afford to have two members break ranks before it cannot pass legislation.
Bill Johnson is resigning in order to become President of Youngstown State University.
January 8, 2024
Congressional leaders have reached a spending limits agreement that may, perhaps, help avoid more government shutdown brinksmanship this month.
January 12, 2024
Re the January 8 item, not all are happy in the GOP ranks. Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio:“I’m not going to sit there and listen to that drivel, because he has no plans to do anything but surrender"
Johnson could be in trouble.
January 14, 2024
Congress reached a budget deal, featuring of course a continuing resolution that kicks the can into March.
January 21, 2024
Marjorie Taylor Greene has been booted out of the House Freedom Caucus for attacking other GOP members in the House, most particularly, apparently, Lauren Boebert.
Green appears to be the one single person in the House absolutely nobody can stand.
January 25, 2024
January 26, 2024
I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is … really appalling.
But the reality is that, that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border. And someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, ‘hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.’
Mitt Romney
January 27, 2024
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson declared that a budget measure that the Senate did pass providing aid to Ukraine and addressing the US/Mexico border may be dead on arrival at the House.
Trump appears to wish to preserve the border issues, and a second of today's GOP opposes aid to Ukraine. An unresolved weirdness of populist and Putin, acquired from Trump, remains unresolved.
January 29, 2024
A House committee has released two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding failing to enforce immigration laws and control the border, which is ironic given that the House has made it plain that it won't take up an immigration bill from the Senate which addresses the crisis at the border.
The house will approve impeaching Mayorkas and this will go for a trial in the Senate, which would have to vote 2/3s to remove him from office. That's not going to occur, and the bigger question is whether and in what form the Senate takes this up at all.
One more example of how the American government is not working right now. Something like less than 30 bills have passed the 119th which instead is engaging in political theater like this, particularly in the House.
Only once before in US history has a Cabinet member been in impeached. That was in 1876 for taking kickbacks. As a high crime or misdemeanor is required, this is really absurd. It's risky as well at this point, as it points out that this is being done as the GOP in the House is upset with Biden's failure to defend the border, and thinks that's an impeachable offense, whereas most of them didn't think that sparking an insurrection and acting in a seditious manner was an impeachable offense. Reductio ad absurdum.
January 31, 2024
As always, excellent commentary from Tom Lubnau:
And the blistering truth:
Wyoming is a very unique state because it figured out a long time ago how to make people from out of state pay our essential taxes. In other words, we mooch off of other taxpayers to pay our bills.
Bulgaria gave former King Ferdinand, who had been in exile since 1918, permission to return to Sofia.
Kings in exile are more philosophic under reverses than ordinary individuals; but our philosophy is primarily the result of tradition and breeding, and do not forget that pride is an important item in the making of a monarch. We are disciplined from the day of our birth and taught the avoidance of all outward signs of emotion. The skeleton sits forever with us at the feast. It may mean murder, it may mean abdication, but it serves always to remind us of the unexpected. Therefore we are prepared and nothing comes in the nature of a catastrophe. The main thing in life is to support any condition of bodily or spiritual exile with dignity. If one sups with sorrow, one need not invite the world to see you eat.
Yugoslavia issued an ultimatum objecting to his return.
He in fact did not return, and having taken steps to secure his fortune, lived a quasi bucolic life, marked by family tragedy, and carried on in Germany, dying in 1948. The prior year, he married a third time, to his secretary, age 26.
Simon & Schuster, the legendary publishing house, was formed.
The U.S. Winter Olympic team left for the first Winter Olympics.
The Constitutionalist government of Mexico reported that is forces had achieved a victory over the rebels of Adolfo de la Huerta at Zacualpan.
The war in Mexico, and other age-old lethal vices, were making headlines far away:
Flooding in Paris closed the railroads.
Sabine Baring-Gould, composer of "Onward, Christian Soldiers", died at age 89. Clara Abbott, American businesswoman who had been the first woman to serve on the board of a major American corporation, Abbott Laboratories, died at age 66.
United States Senators Frazier and Johnson were photographed working.
A new flag for Iowa was unveiled.
It is, frankly, ugly.
It had been adopted in 1921. Iowa had lacked one before that.
This is really remarkable:
Haroldson, Jennings: A partisan doesn't belong in the Wyoming Supreme Courts: A partisan doesn't belong in the Wyoming Supreme Court
I cannot ever recall seeing legislators write an op-ed about judicial nominees in Wyoming. But here's one. As the op-ed states:
Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Kieth Kautz, after having served three decades, will be required by law to retire in March 2024, and the Commission has already presented its three names to Governor Gordon: Stuart Healy (currently serving as District Judge in Campbell, Crook, and Weston Counties), Robert Jarosh (a Cheyenne attorney), and Tim Stubson (a Casper attorney).
We are alarmed by the selection of Mr. Stubson, not because we disagree on nearly every political issue under the sun, but because of his active participation in divisive, partisan politics. Not only does Stubson regularly engage in partisan political debates on social media (which any judicial officer knows to refrain from), Cowboy State Politics has discovered that he is currently the chairman of two active Political Action Committees: the Wyoming Caucus PAC and the Team Wyoming PAC. Serving as the head of a PAC is an inherently partisan activity, which is why PACs are heavily regulated by the Wyoming Legislature and Secretary of State’s Office.
This editorial is directed at Stubson, and this part specifically aims at him:
Partisan politics are fun. Helping out on a political campaign or two can be exhilarating, especially when your candidate for governor wins. Going on PBS News Hour to share your love for Liz Cheney is definitely an accomplishment. But these are not the kind of activities an impartial jurist participates in.
Mr. Stubson served in the legislature, and then later ran for Congress. He was one of the three top vote getters the first year that Liz Cheney ran. Indeed, Stubson and a Teton County candidate likely put Cheney over the top, as they split the majority of the GOP vote, leaving her the top vote getter as a result.
Since then, Stubson has left the legislature and been a regular old citizen, practicing law, as the op ed notes. But he has been vocal in regard to the tragic shift of the GOP into the populist right, as has been his wife.
His partisan activities are the only reason that those authoring the op-ed are against him.
Is that a good basis to oppose him?
Well, judge's positions are political ones, no matter what we might wish to pretend. Judge Freudenthal, a retiring Federal District Court judge in Cheyenne, was nominated when her husband was the Governor. Judge Buchanan, a recent pick by Governor Gordon, stepped down from his elected office as Wyoming's Secretary of State in order to aim for that position, something that was quite controversial at the time.
But a greater issue is what's going on with Wyoming judicial picks in general.
There's not a single judge that I've experienced who is currently sitting whom I think is a "bad judge". But Governor Gordon's picks have been, in my view, lacking quite often. Indeed, this is so much the case that it's backroom talk amongst the lawyers, and not all that long ago the judicial nominating committee's Chief Justice chair complained that the committee was no longer getting all that many applicants for judicial positions. Be that as it may, that didn't stop the committee from picking a very young lawyer to a judicial position who had been the Chief Justice's clerk.
Moreover, by and large, civil litigators have the doors barred to them. Under Gordon, the picks have been largely out of the criminal law or domestic fields, thereby removing a huge field of talent. One of the three names up this time is out of the criminal law field, but I would note that the other two are out of the civil law arena.
The prior governor, Governor Mead, who was a practicing lawyer, had a dedicated, and open, policy of addressing the gender imbalance on the bench. Given a female option, he normally went in that direction. His choices were good ones, but it did mean that male applicants were pretty much out of the running in many instances through no fault of their own. But since then, things have declined.
I've liked Gordon as a Governor, except in certain instances. This is one of them. Recent choices have been very young and in some cases hard to justify if merit alone was the qualifier. The applicants do go through a process, but frankly, influence from the Supreme Court and the Governor's Office weighs pretty heavily. The entire process has declined, and now potential applicants just sit it out.
And that's not a good thing.
Mexican revolutionaries were suffering a set back.
The Dixmude, a war prize German Zeppelin in French service, exploded in midair, with all hands lost.
October 25, 2023
Mike Johnson, who supported Trump's bogus claim to have won the election, has been elected Speaker of the House of Representatives
November 8, 2023
November 8, 2023
Hamas v. Israel War
U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib was censured for her "river to the sea" comment. Tlaib is of Palestinian extraction and has a vocal critic of Israel.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman claimed n a television interview that Palestinian protests in the US were due to Palestinian infiltration of the U.S. government.
November 14, 2023
Eight Republicans voted with Democrats against a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis. The vote was 209 to 201, showing how extreme the GOP is, but also that the far right lacks complete control over the Republican members.
November 15, 2023
The House passed a stop gap spending resolution yesterday to avoid a government shutdown, but the GOP was forced to rely upon Democratic votes in order to pass it. That should be normal, of course, but with the current Republican makeup it is not.
Johnson is proving not to be a slave to his far right, which in turn will either result in his being removed liked McCarthy or perhaps start off a return to more normal behavior.
November 16, 2023
The Senate also passed the spending bill.
December 1, 2023
George Santos has been expelled from Congress.
December 2, 2023
Following up on this, the expulsion of Santos is real progress as by doing in the GOP is potentially cutting into its three vote margin in the House, and did it anyway. It shows, at long last, that there are some standards which cannot be breached.
December 6, 2023
Getting a jump on behaving like a Soviet court in the early USSR, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and a subcommittee chairman on the House Administration Committee announced Tuesday that they would be investigating any "cooperation" between Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and the former House Jan. 6 committee.
Because, after all, it would be awful if the Dear Leader's behavior were to have come fully to light, as that would demonstrate independence of thought and loyalty to the truth. We can't have that.
Cont:
Kevin McCarthy, who was complicit in Trump's recovery from his brief fall from Republican grace, and who rode Trump's favor into a brief Speakership, shall resign from Congress at the end of this month. In so doing, he stated: “I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways". This will reduce the GOP majority in the House down to a single seat, at least temporarily.
December 14, 2023
The House is going to have a totally pointless impeachment inquiry regarding Joe Biden based on his son Hunter's conduct and baseless allegations that Hunter's business dealings involve his father.
Some assert that this is revenge dictated by "one day dictator" hopeful Donald Trump, whose own children certainly were active under his name during his presidency. Trading on a famous parent's name certainly isn't illegal, and is frankly nearly inevitable. Congressional Medal of Honor Winner Theodore Roosevelt Jr certainly didn't become well known independently. Of course, the baseless allegations here are that Biden was somehow involved in Hunter Biden's activities.
Whether Donald Trump ordered this or not, the level of delusion in the GOP side of the House of Representatives is sufficient to have likely brought this about independently. Ironically, it's now come to light that the individual who will head this sorry affair, James Comer, has a complicated set of financial arrangements not unlike that of Hunter Biden, although he's not being accused of illegal activities.
At any rate, there are not enough votes right now to impeach Biden, and this is yet another example of the House of Representatives, under GOP control, doing something political that will do nothing whatsoever other than to distract.
All the Republicans voted for the measure, all the Democrats voted against it.
The long ago days under Kevin McCarthy already look better.
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