Patients’ stories propel cannabis bill past Wyoming House committee
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.
Entries by BetterWyoming
The Legislature’s plan to keep Wyoming burning coal (whether we like it or not)
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.
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New funding, public outcry prompt Wyoming Senate committee to advance Medicaid bill
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.
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Wyoming Legislature continues its quest to punish renewable energy
Want to hurt businesses? Create an environment of uncertainty. That’s the plan for Wyoming lawmakers intent on kneecapping our wind and solar industries.
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House Education Committee dials back Wyoming education cuts
Wyoming is not broke. And funding schools is a constitutional requirement. As lawmakers deliberate a bill to dramatically cut education funding, second thoughts begin to emerge.
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Proposed school voucher program would further defund Wyoming public education
A bill to funnel public money to private, religious, and home schools will appear before a Wyoming legislative committee this week, providing lawmakers the option to offer students “thoughts and prayers” rather than sustainable school funding.
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Wyoming lawmakers use “voter fraud” hysteria to push ID bill
A bill to require Wyoming voters to present IDs at the polls will pass this session after several years of failure. As the Wyoming State GOP outlines plans to ban mail-in voting and other restrictions, the measure appears the first step in a larger campaign to limit elections in the state.
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Clean power supporters convince Wyoming land board to approve wind energy lease
Energy workers, ranchers, and young people united to support a proposed Albany County wind farm, which wealthy local homeowners oppose. The state land board’s lease approval moves the project one step forward. But obstacles remain.
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Elderly, disabled, suffering: Proposed Wyoming healthcare cuts will hurt struggling people across the state
Wyoming lawmakers have “trimmed the fat” at the state Department of Health for years, including a $100 million budget reduction in 2016. Now, a new round of cuts will hit bone, eliminating critical services for our state’s most vulnerable residents and canceling programs that will cost the state more in the long run.
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A user’s guide to the bizarre, online 2021 Wyoming legislative session
This year’s online legislative session provides unprecedented access for Wyoming residents to watch and participate. Find out what’s going on next week and how you can take part (virtually!) in the legislative process.
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NIMBY landowner campaign inflames anti-renewables attitudes to block Wyoming wind development
A proposed wind farm would bring tens of millions of dollars in revenue for Albany County and Wyoming schools, along with good jobs. But hilltop landowners worried about their backyard views have launched a campaign to stop it, trafficking in Wyomingites’ anxieties about the global transition to carbon-free energy.
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Healthcare access grows harder for thousands of newly uninsured Wyomingites
Roughly 6,000 people have lost their health insurance in Wyoming during the COVID-19 pandemic. But state lawmakers continue to block federal funds that would cover insurance costs for low-income residents, while they gut state Department of Health funding for community health services.
