Despite early chaos, Wyoming lawmakers earn passing grade

Before it started, many Wyoming residents wondered aloud whether state lawmakers would be able to compromise on a budget for the next two years during the recently completed 21-day legislative session.

As the days extended into frequent late nights — at least in the House of Representatives — and the rhetoric ratcheted up, the dark shadow of doubt seemed to loom larger and larger.

Yet, as far apart as the Wyoming Freedom Caucus-controlled House and the state Senate seemed when they started, the joint conference committee negotiations were remarkably short. The same House members of the Joint Appropriations Committee who had gashed Gov. Mark Gordon’s $11.1 billion “Essentials Budget” in the weeks leading up to the session seemed almost eager to meet senators more than halfway.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the session wasn’t filled with other drama. Anyone who was paying attention at all during the past month knows the main distraction was the controversy caused by a Teton County woman’s decision to hand out $1,500 campaign checks on the House floor after adjournment on the first day. Because a House member decided to share a photo of the situation with the media (more on that later), the check-passing saga was one of the most talked-about topics in coffee shops and around dinner tables across the Cowboy State throughout the session.

Thankfully, residents paid attention to the legislation being debated, as well. Many legislators said they heard from constituents opposed to the proposed $40 million cut to the University of Wyoming’s block grant, while others shared opposition to attempts to shutter the Wyoming Business Council, the state’s economic development agency.

We were pleased to see people engaged in a variety of other topics, as well, ranging from K-12 education funding to election integrity and from property taxes to library materials. Even if the outcomes weren’t what they’d hoped for, in Wyoming, legislators tend to listen when residents share their opinions with those elected to represent them.

Before the session started, we laid out our score sheet and hopes for the session. This week, we sat down and graded the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s budget session in this way:

2027-28 biennium budget

Point value: 20 out of 25

Key measures of success: Pass a biennium budget that best serves Wyoming constituents, not partisanship. Balance short-term and long-term savings with wise expenditures; avoid cutting essential programs that impact the most vulnerable Wyoming residents, while positioning state government to be responsive, effective and competitive.

Details: In some ways, giving lawmakers a low “B” on the budget is generous. Gov. Gordon said in his line-item veto letter that the legislative branch wasted a lot of time discussing ways to micromanage state agencies. While the legislative branch rightfully uses its “power of the purse” to provide the resources and general direction to accomplish constitutional ends, the danger is in getting bogged down in the minutiae.

For all of the wishful pronouncements before the session began, House leaders sure seemed to give in quickly when it came time to settle $170 million in differences between their version and the Senate’s. Maybe by then they realized passing a budget was more important than digging in their heels. Or perhaps constituent emails and social media comments convinced them that when it came to specifics, the electorate didn’t agree with the Freedom Caucus’ approach toward its stated objective to “cut wasteful spending and limit growth of government.”

Whichever, we settled on 20 because, as the governor also wrote in his letter, “Delivering a sound budget was the essential objective of this session, and to have the Senate, the House, and the Chief Executive all sharing the credit is, in itself, a remarkable achievement all things considered.”

Property taxes, funding essential services

Point value: 10 out of 15

Key measures of success: Reject efforts to pass any more major property tax relief measures, and seek ways to support public safety for small towns and taxing districts that rely on this money. Factor the possible passage of a constitutional amendment this fall to reduce property taxes across the board by 50% into all relevant discussions.

Details: One member of our Editorial Board would have preferred to see this score be a 7, solely for the Senate’s failure to debate House Bill 147, “Property tax exemptions-effect of people’s initiative.” Passed 56-5 in the House and recommended 5-0 by the Senate Revenue Committee, this bill would have repealed the exemption passed a few years ago of 25% of the first $1 million in fair market value of a single-family residential structure if Wyoming voters approve a constitutional amendment in November that would extend the exemption to 50% of the assessed value of a primary residence.

While we maintain hope that voters will reject Constitutional Amendment A, we agree that passing HB 147 would have been prudent.

That said, at least state lawmakers didn’t make the revenue problem facing small communities and districts that rely on property tax revenue any worse by passing any new tax-reduction measures, including a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish property tax altogether.

Health care

Point value: 10 out of 10

Key measures of success: Avoid unnecessary cuts to the Wyoming Department of Health budget. Through debate over how to use the $205 million in federal funding from the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program, balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability.

Details: We didn’t hear much objection to how lawmakers ended up handling the RHT funding or the rest of the state health department’s budget. And in Wyoming’s current political climate, no news is good news.

Restrictions on library materials

Point value: 8 out of 10

Key measures of success: Avoid passing anything that imposes personal fines or jail time on local librarians, who are following their institutional policies. If a bill restricting content in government libraries is passed, maintain appropriate local control over collections and challenge policies.

Details: It was tempting for some of us to want to award the full 10 points here, simply because the bill specifying requirements for county and school libraries to govern access to sexually explicit materials by minors (House Bill 10) failed to pass. However, we’re a board intentionally composed to reflect our community’s diverse opinions, and divided on the need for this legislation.

The two-point deduction primarily comes from the Senate sidelining floor debate on the bill entirely. Even though Sen. Troy McKeown, R-Gillette, asked his colleagues to waive a procedural deadline, hear arguments and vote on it, senators voted 13-18 against doing that.

Overall, we’re hopeful that local library systems across the state will address the issue of the availability of sexually explicit content to children. We hope all take the approach of Laramie County Library System Executive Director Antonia Gaona (a member of our board), who wrote last year, “Protecting the innocence of young readers while fostering a love for learning is at the heart of our mission.”

K-12 funding recalibration

Point value: 8 out of 10

Key measures of success: Strike an appropriate balance between increased compensation/better benefits for educators and enough funding to keep staffing at appropriate levels throughout the state. Respect local control for K-12 districts.

Details: The good news here is that for the first time in 15 years, the Wyoming Legislature has adjusted the state’s K-12 public education funding model. State law, however, says that process, known as recalibration, is supposed to happen every five years.

Based on that fact alone, we were inclined to give lawmakers a full 10 points. But despite an extra $125 million per year for the next two years to be divided among the state’s 48 school districts, one concern remains.

As Gov. Gordon and several legislators noted, the bill restricts funding for teacher raises and other classroom needs in an “instructional silo.” In a letter explaining why he let the bill become law without his signature, the governor said he believes the approach is “well intentioned,” but it fails to give districts the flexibility to put funds where they’re most needed. That could negatively impact smaller districts even more than larger ones.

Still, the bill gives teachers a significant pay raise, and maintains a class size ratio of 22 students for each teacher for grades 4 through 8. There’s more work to be done by the recalibration committee in the coming interim period, but this was a good start.

Future of the Wyoming Business Council

Point value: 8 out of 10

Key measures of success: Reduce funding and reform the Wyoming Business Council, but don’t overreact by completely abolishing statewide economic development efforts to attract new industries, build/maintain a skilled workforce and diversify the state’s economy.

Details: State lawmakers are right when they say the Wyoming Business Council needs to be reformed and refocused to improve its effectiveness. They also did the right thing by rejecting attempts to shutter the only statewide economic development agency entirely.

While funding was severely cut — at least for the first year of the biennium — the amount approved leaves the WBC with enough resources to reflect, regroup and recommit to efficiently help local communities attract and retain quality employers.

Election changes

Point value: 9 out of 10

Key measures of success: Avoid passing any bills that disenfranchise legitimate voters by making it unreasonably difficult to cast ballots. Provide for secure ballot drop boxes in state statute. Focus on election integrity and voter confidence in the system. Ensure any bills that are passed have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, or later.

Details: By our metric, no damage was done, and at least a couple of bills intended to check integrity and increase confidence in voting machines did pass.

A bill that deserved more debate in the Senate was House Bill 84, “Falsifying election documents,” which was sponsored by the Management Audit Committee. Had it passed, it would have added “Submitting a false post-election ballot audit to the secretary of state …” to the section of state law describing ways to falsify election documents. Considering the situation in Weston County following the 2024 general election, it seems this change might be needed. (Attempts to remove that county clerk from office are ongoing.)

Civil discourse and cooperation

Point value: 3 out of 10

Key measures of success: Lawmakers work together in the best interest of the people of Wyoming, remain respectful of one another and show the same respect to their constituents, even when they disagree. Bonus points for examples of bipartisan cooperation.

Details: The difficulty in assigning a grade in this category is that it ends up painting all 93 legislators with the same broad brush. That’s unfair to the vast majority, who remain focused on their work and treat one other with civility and respect throughout the session.

However, it’s impossible to ignore the ongoing use of political invective, both on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ Facebook page and in the governor’s official news releases. Bombastic rhetoric and negative comments directed toward those who disagree with them were prevalent on both sides. Many of them felt like what you’d expect to see in the throes of campaign season, not the middle of a legislative session.

When it comes to the campaign checks being passed out on the House floor and complained about first to the media, it appears no rules or laws were broken (though the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation hasn’t been completed), but there’s plenty of blame to go around.

We were disappointed that Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, remained steadfast after the session ended that she had to go public with what she saw and photographed Feb. 9, rather than file an ethics complaint through Joint Rule 22-1. Whether or not that process would have ultimately resulted in public transparency about the situation, it certainly would have been less distracting to let that process work first. If Rep. Provenza disliked the outcome, she then could have gone to the media.

But as the situation unfolded, we also were disappointed with attempts by multiple campaign donation check recipients to deflect questions about the payments. They could have mitigated the bad optics by promptly confirming they took checks on the House floor (and in other Capitol spaces) and expressing regret for attracting suspicion that distracted from legislative responsibilities.

Final grade: 76 out of 100 (C).

When all was said and done, we were left with mixed feelings about the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s budget session. In some ways, it was surprisingly positive, with a balanced budget passed and appropriate levels of spending that will help address many of the state’s major needs. In other ways, it was more of the same — energy wasted on an undignified war of words, rather than resolving key issues that truly matter to Wyoming residents.

Still, we recognize that lawmaking is hard work. As always, we thank our citizen legislators for their time and service, and we hope the interim time period is more productive and less contentious. We also hope members of the 69th Wyoming Legislature — whoever they may be — will do even better when they gather at the Capitol in January.