Gov. Matt Mead says "Get that imprecisely crafted bill out of my face." The House obliged.
Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police director Byron Oedekoven (left) leads the fight against commonsense cannabis reform with his buddy, Rep. Bill Pownall (right) pictured here while he was a Gillette sheriff.

Law enforcement lobbyists convince House committee to kill CBD bill

CBD oil is essentially harmless. But fear-mongering law enforcement officials convinced legislators that "harmless" is still too dangerous for Wyoming adults.
"Handmaiden's Tale" Illustration by Tran Nguyen

Here come the abortion bills

Two bills threatening Wyoming women's reproductive rights are moving through the state legislature. Many more are expected to come.
Foster Friess may be sunning himself in Arizona during the 2019 Legislative session, but the influence of his wealth is present.

As the Wyoming Legislature convenes, Foster Friess’ influence is everywhere

The billionaire and gubernatorial loser has brought two bills, created a new media outlet, and recruited lobbyists to support his causes.
Better Wyoming will run advocacy campaigns during the 2019 session related to school funding, cannabis, and nondiscrimination

Better Wyoming launches advocacy campaigns for the 2019 State Legislative session

Our new grassroots organizing staff will recruit volunteers to focus on public school funding, commonsense cannabis reform, and LGBTQ nondiscrimination
Mining provides the lion's share of Wyoming's tax revenue. But even the deepest budget cuts in more than a decade aren't enough to keep up with the busts.

Wyoming’s budget is the smallest it has been in 15 years. We still need new revenues.

The deepest cuts in more than a decade couldn't fix Wyoming's "structural deficit." When will lawmakers realize more cuts aren't the answer?
Wyoming's suicide rate is one of the highest in the nation.

Session Recap: Funding restored, Wyoming must now work to rebuild its suicide prevention program from scratch

After completely defunding Wyoming's statewide program in 2017, the Legislature allocated $2 million this year for suicide prevention. The scope of damage—and what a new program will look like—is unclear.
Single mothers would have been the main targets of Medicaid work requirements in Wyoming.

Medicaid work requirements didn’t pass this year, but they fit too well with Wyoming’s history of denying public assistance to assume they won’t be back

A work requirements bill passed the Senate with gusto, suggesting there's no small number of lawmakers eager to kick folks in Wyoming off Medicaid.
They ain't legal, but weed brownies like these will go another year without being specifically named in Wyoming law.

Session recap: Another year, another effort to criminalize edible marijuana fails. Is the Legislature getting ready to turn a corner on cannabis?

In killing yet another proposal to criminalize edible cannabis, a House committee doubled down on its position that Wyoming needs marijuana reform
Earl DeGroot, head of Wyoming Sportsmen for Federal Lands, speaks at a 2017 rally for Public Lands Day in Laramie.

Session recap: How the death of “Wyoming Public Lands Day” illustrates mining’s grip on the Legislature

What should have been an uncontroversial win for public lands advocates became a way for mineral industry-connected lawmakers to demonstrate their supremacy.
Neither pipelines nor oil spills nor climate change nor protests are going away. There's no reason to think bills like SF-74 will, either.

Session recap: Wyoming hasn't seen the last of pipeline protest bills like SF-74

The bill vetoed by Gov. Matt Mead that would have punished protesters like those at Standing Rock with imprisonment and absurd fines was a small part of a much larger fight. It's likely to be back in some form soon.
Inmates at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins might get some breathing room thanks to new reforms.

Session recap: Criminal justice reform makes progress

After years of failed measures to decrease Wyoming's prison population and otherwise improve the system, 2018 saw several positive bills pass.
Gov. Matt Mead says "Get that imprecisely crafted bill out of my face." The House obliged.

House upholds Mead’s veto of pipeline protest bill, killing it for good (until next year)

The Legislature needed a two-thirds vote from each chamber to override Mead's veto. The Senate mustered the votes, but the House did not.