We’re building a

BETTER WYOMING

Good Ol’ Boy’s Club politics and a ‘free ride’ from the fossil fuel industries won’t cut it for our state any longer. That’s why we’re educating, organizing, and mobilizing Wyoming residents on behalf of statewide change. We’re the generation that must build a Better Wyoming.

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Latest News

Medicaid expansion typically benefits state budgets and improves residents' health.

Wyoming lawmakers eye funding options for Medicaid upgrade

May 8, 2021

The Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee will take up Medicaid expansion this week, with a focus on translating some of the $1.4 billion Wyoming will receive from the American Rescue Plan into sustainable healthcare funding for low-income residents.

Ninety percent of the Department of Health's budget funds community health centers.

Public health cuts hit communities across Wyoming

April 30, 2021

The Legislature cut more than $100 million from the Wyoming Department of Health’s budget this session, including tens of millions from mental health and substance abuse programs while the state is experiencing a suicide crisis.

Online registration has increased youth voter turnout up to 20 percent in other states.

The silver lining of Wyoming’s new voter ID law: A path to online registration

April 23, 2021

Wyoming’s new voter ID law will suppress turnout, as similar laws have in other states. But by forcing Wyoming residents to show IDs at the polls, the new law also eliminates the main argument against Wyoming adopting online voter registration, which increases youth voter turnout.

Sometimes good things happen when adults screw up!

Wyo Senate scuttles education funding bill, sparing school cuts

April 10, 2021

In a last-day legislative surprise, lawmakers from the Wyoming House and Senate failed to agree on the details of a bill that would have dramatically cut public education funding. As a result of legislators’ failure to govern, K-12 schools will be spared budget cuts for now. But the structural problem of our education funding model remains.

Bigger classes and less one-on-one attention are among the drawbacks of decreased school funding.

Wyo Legislature looks to end fifth straight session with deep education cuts

April 6, 2021

The House and Senate have come up with two different versions of an education funding bill: One that cuts public school budgets, and another that cuts them even more. Lawmakers will end the session tomorrow debating which version will prevail.

Efforts in support of Medicaid expansion in Wyoming are picking up steam.

A single vote stops Wyo. Medicaid expansion, but a movement grows

April 2, 2021

Two identical bills to update Wyoming’s Medicaid program came before the same Senate committee this session. A senator who supported the first bill flipped and killed the second. But not before a movement coalesced that will continue to fight for affordable healthcare access in Wyoming.

Wyoming's trust funds contain more than $20 billion.

Wyoming's "budget crisis" is fake

March 27, 2021

Even as fossil fuel tax revenues plummet, Wyoming remains a rich state with no urgent reason to cut public services from struggling and vulnerable people. It also just received more than a billion dollars in federal aid. Why then, are Wyoming lawmakers eager to cut public funding? Because they want to.

Nearly three-quarters of the people who would become eligible for insurance are young single mothers.

Far-right full-court press fails to stop Wyo Medicaid bill’s advance

March 24, 2021

Members of the “Freedom Caucus” mounted a vigorous attempt to stop a bill to extend Wyoming Medicaid coverage to low-income residents on Wednesday, comparing poor people to livestock and simply denying any problem exists. But they failed, and for the first time ever, a Medicaid expansion bill passed the Wyoming House.

The additional federal funds would result in a long-term state revenue increase.

Dollars and care: Wyoming House gives initial approval to Medicaid upgrade

March 23, 2021

Many lawmakers explained that they had opposed similar measures in the past. But Wyoming has failed to find an alternative solution, the federal government is offering more funding, and tens of thousands of people in the state still lack access to healthcare. So this year is different.

Many of the people who would qualify for insurance are between 50 - 64 years old.

Second Medicaid update bill clears Wyoming Legislative committee

March 19, 2021

Two separate bills to extend insurance coverage to tens of thousands of Wyomingites have advanced thanks to public support and increased federal funding.

Wyoming lost 6,000 jobs in the mining sector last year.

Minerals committee hijacks bill to help Wyoming transition from fossil fuels

March 17, 2021

The proposal would have created an independent task force to explore how Wyoming workers and communities can persevere through the global transition away from fossil fuels. Instead, the Legislature’s House Minerals Committee—which works hand-in-hand with industry—amended the bill to put the “transition” task force under its own control.

The law would drive more women out of state to receive an abortion.

Abortion pill ban is part of suite of anti-choice bills before the Wyoming Legislature

March 16, 2021

A proposal to ban medical abortion would effectively end Wyoming women’s ability to terminate pregnancy in the state. Similar laws passed in other states have all been found unconstitutional.

Cannabis patients are an increasingly important part of the discussion about legalization in Wyoming.

Patients’ stories propel cannabis bill past Wyoming House committee

March 15, 2021

Personal liberty, access to treatment, and the high cost of locking up users all helped motivate Wyoming lawmakers to advance a bill that would fully legalize cannabis in the state.

Despite the Legislature's best efforts, coal has consistently declined.

The Legislature’s plan to keep Wyoming burning coal (whether we like it or not)

March 13, 2021

The Legislature has been working hard—and failing—since 2019 to prop up Wyoming’s coal industry. This year, proposals to support carbon capture, ban renewable energy, sue states that decrease coal use, and force coal-fired plants to stay open are all on the table.

Tens of thousands of low-income workers, mostly single mothers, would obtain basic insurance.

New funding, public outcry prompt Wyoming Senate committee to advance Medicaid bill

March 9, 2021

Dozens of people showed up Monday to demand the Legislature take advantage of COVID-19 relief funds that would cover the cost of updating Wyoming’s Medicaid program to insure low-income residents.

HELP SAVE WYOMING HEALTHCARE

Wyoming lawmakers are blocking nearly 30,000 workers from getting health insurance by refusing to expand Medicaid.

Our rural hospitals are struggling, the cost of health insurance is so high that businesses hesitate to locate here, and mental illness is rampant while treatment is scarce.

Better Wyoming is building a statewide grassroots movement to make healthcare reform an issue Wyoming lawmakers can’t ignore. Join us.

SUPPORT OUR CLEAN POWER ECONOMY

Renewable energy development will be a critical part of Wyoming’s economic future. But some folks are desperate to cling to the past.

Join us to support a wind project in Albany County that will bring jobs and tax revenue to a struggling economy, but that’s under threat by an anti-renewables campaign.

THE BETTER WYOMING GRASSROOTS INSTITUTE

Our free, multi-week advocacy leadership training courses prepare Wyoming residents to work on behalf of real change in the Cowboy State.

Areas of focus vary each course, but all Grassroots Institute graduates:

Understand key issues facing Wyoming
Learn strategies to turn out voters and organize their communities
Employ a broad set of advocacy skills
Connect with a statewide progressive network

Learn more and stay tuned for GRI news!

Together, we can build a better Wyoming

Join thousands of people just like you to build the kind of Wyoming that works for everyone

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