Session Update
The final two weeks of a legislative session usually involves intense negotiations between the House and Senate over the budget. But this year, in an unprecedented event, the two chambers simply decided to not pass a budget, leaving millions of dollars of state programs unfunded.
Meanwhile, a handful of bills proceeded to the capitol toward the governor’s desk, while many others—including most election-related bills—died. The Freedom Caucus plugged through more anti-abortion bills, some bad education bills passed while others perished, and some common sense bills helping workers and seniors survived (barely).
At last, the session ended, and after overturning several of the governor’s vetoes, the legislators went home.
Topic deepdive
Healthcare
Abortion is the only kind of healthcare that interested lawmakers in these two weeks.
The House passed a bill that would redefine “healthcare” in state statute to specifically exclude abortion in a weird attempt to bypass Wyoming’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a bill that would force abortion clinics to equip themselves with advanced and expensive surgical equipment, another bill that prohibits off-label prescription drugs that are commonly used for abortion, and yet another requiring anyone seeking abortion—including victims of rape and incest—to receive an invasive and medically pointless transvaginal ultrasound.
Education
The House voted down a bill that would require people running for local school boards to declare their political party affiliation on the ballot.
The Senate passed a bill that would remove the cap on the number of charter schools that can operate in the state, opening Wyoming up to any number of fly-by-night operations.
However, the Senate voted down a resolution that would restructure the way Wyoming funds school construction in a manner that would allow rich communities to have nice, fancy schools and force poor communities to use run-down buildings.
Other
The Senate passed a bill that will make it easier for communities to fund senior services by lengthening the amount of time public funds can be used after voter approval, from two to four years. They passed a bill that would decrease the amount of time laid-off workers can receive unemployment benefits.
The House, however, voted down the Senate’s bill to decrease unemployment benefits. Then, they passed a bill that would prohibit employers from requiring “non-compete” agreements that can make it difficult for workers to pursue employment after quitting a job.
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