Ask most any Wyoming legislator how they think they did during this year's 37-day general session, and they'll probably say, "Not bad" or "Pretty good, all things considered."
We beg to differ.
Maybe our bar is set too high, but we expect our elected lawmakers to do what's best for ALL Wyoming residents, not just those who agree with them. Which is why, for the second year in a row, the Wyoming Legislature has earned an "F" from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle editorial board.
We'll get into the specifics of why we rated them so low in just a second, but what's most frustrating is hearing and reading comments to the contrary from legislative leaders after the session ends. Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, and House Speaker Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, would have you believe they worked hard and had your best interest in mind at all times. Because they shoved $1.4 billion into various savings accounts, they feel like it was a successful session.
This attempted snow job is worse than any blizzard a Wyoming winter could throw at you. Remember, this was the longer, non-budget gathering. Yes, a supplemental budget was considered and passed – in record time, lawmakers boast, as if speed should earn them bonus points. But it's during these longer sessions that we expect lawmakers to dig in and address the deeper problems that the state continues to struggle with.
Instead, senators rushed through their bills like their pants were on fire, at one point even considering the possibility of adjourning for a few days while the House of Representatives caught up. And the House, where a large crop of new lawmakers seemed determined to make long-winded statements about every bill, slogged along, debating national issues that had very little – if anything – to do with the challenges faced by Wyoming residents. They also refused to debate late into the night on deadline days in order to make sure every bill that had received committee support was heard on the chamber floor.
Sorry, but we're not drinking the Kool-Aid being handed out by legislative leaders. For the reasons below and many more, the 2023 legislative session was mostly a colossal waste of time.
***
The supplemental budget
Final grade:Â 18 out of 25
Key measures of success:Â Funds programs to help average Wyoming residents; avoids draconian cuts to state services; boosts pay for state employees and compensation for retirees; balances long-term savings with wise expenditures.
Reasons for the score:Â This is the first of only two "bright spots" of the session, if you can call them that, and that's only because it could have been worse.
It came as no surprise that lawmakers agreed with Gov. Mark Gordon and took the conservative approach to spending. When presented with a nearly $2 billion surplus before the session began, both the Joint Appropriations Committee and the governor were focused on saving as much as possible before the next inevitable "bust" comes along.
The final number was $1.4 billion. Divided over long-term and more liquid savings accounts, that largesse was socked away to help pay the bills in leaner times. That's not a bad idea, of course, since state leaders continue to ignore the reality that they must diversify the state's economy and reduce their dependence on income from fossil fuel industries or revise the tax structure to create new sources of income.
What kept this grade from being lower is that they did approve the full $70 million external cost adjustment recommended by the Joint Education Committee for K-12 schools, along with money for capital construction, to fully fund the property tax refund program, and to provide raises for current and former state employees.Â
Medicaid expansion
Final grade:Â 5 out of 20
Key measures of success:Â Wyoming lawmakers finally vote to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid coverage to an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 low-income residents.
Reasons for the score:Â Since the main objective for this category was extending Medicaid coverage to those who fall in the "insurance gap," the score really should be zero. For at least another year, an estimated 19,000 residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and not enough to afford health coverage through the federal marketplace will continue to lack insurance.
Why? Because one man – House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett – refused to allow the full House of Representatives to debate House Bill 80. This committee-sponsored bill had been developed and debated during the previous interim period and stood a decent chance of passing the House (which is why it stayed in Rep. Neiman's drawer).
Would it have passed the Senate? Who knows. But the fact that it never got a chance to cross over is beyond shameful. We just hope Mr. Neiman can live with himself, knowing that fellow Wyomingites could be suffering from curable health conditions because of his actions.
Five points may be too generous, but at least the Legislature did barely pass House Bill 4, which maintains Medicaid coverage for those women already covered for up to a full year after the birth of a baby. Without it, the coverage would have ended after just two months. Many are considering it the biggest health care "win" in years, which says a lot.Â
Mental health services and suicide prevention
Final grade:Â 5 out of 15
Key measures of success: Permanent funding is approved for the state’s 24-7 suicide prevention lifeline, and Wyoming joins interstate compacts for psychologists and licensed professional counselors.
Reasons for the score:Â The good news first: Both Senate File 10 and SF 26 passed, which means out-of-state providers can offer counseling services to residents through telehealth, as well as in person. Wyoming's licensed providers also will be allowed to serve clients outside of the state's borders.
Were it not for that, however, this score, too, would have been zero. After much debate in both chambers, House Bill 65, "988 suicide prevention," created an empty trust fund to support continuation of the 24-hour Wyoming-based suicide prevention hotline.
Keep in mind that lawmakers stuffed $1.4 billion into savings but couldn't be bothered to put any of the recommended $40 million into the trust fund to try to reduce the nation's worst suicide rate. Is there any greater example of elected representatives signaling they have no interest in protecting the most vulnerable Wyoming residents?
Financial support for local governments
Final grade:Â 8 out of 10
Key measures of success:Â Either through the supplemental budget or via individual bills, legislators boost financial support for cities, towns and counties statewide.
Reasons for the score:Â House Bill 185 was the second "bright spot" of the 2023 session, as legislators agreed to provide $26.25 million more to local governments than was originally allocated for the current biennium. For Cheyenne, this means about $1 million more than expected. For small communities struggling to stay afloat, we hope it's enough. Again, remember that lawmakers saved more than $3.50 for every $1 spent this session.
Maintain/increase support for ALL Wyoming residents
Final grade:Â 4 out of 10
Key measures of success: Whether it’s election reform or juvenile justice funding, state lawmakers need to find ways to benefit ALL Wyoming residents, not just those they agree with.
Reasons for the score:Â Again, this score probably should have been lower, based solely on the fact lawmakers passed House Bill 103. The bill, which Gov. Mark Gordon allowed to become law without his signature, prevents voters from changing their party affiliation after May 1, which is before the first day of the candidate filing period. That means that before anyone has a chance to see who is running for each open seat at all levels of government, voters will have to decide which party primary they want to participate in.
Republican lawmakers believe they're protecting the "integrity" of the election process. We think it is nothing but an unnecessary, knee-jerk reaction to a perceived problem that isn't real by a fear-mongering dominant party hell-bent on maintaining control at all costs. It also will create unnecessary extra work for county clerks, who will have to explain the change and turn away angry voters who aren't eligible to register during certain time periods.
What kept this score from being lower were small actions like creation of the Ashanti Alert system for missing Indigenous persons and "adults at risk" and requiring K-12 school districts to provide students with information about apprenticeships and other workforce programs, not just college scholarships.
Avoiding harmful legislation
Final grade:Â 2 out of 10
Key measures of success:Â No bills are passed that harm any segment of the population in any way.
Reasons for the score:Â Rereading the paragraph above this means the score should be a zero, based solely on the crossover voting bill outlined above. Then there's Senate File 133, the "trans sports" bill. And the lack of funding for the suicide hotline. And the anti-abortion bills.
None of this even addresses the large amount of testimony from lawmakers that impacts the mental health of transgender youth, low-income mothers and others who obviously are "lesser-than" people to those who could help make their lives better.
The only silver lining here is that other harmful bills were killed, including one to prohibit business owners and schools from requiring customers to wear masks during a pandemic and another to prevent law enforcement officers from removing firearms from anyone deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Civility
Final grade:Â 6 out of 10
Key measures of success:Â Elected officials refrain from name-calling and show each other respect, regardless of how much they disagree.
Reasons for the score:Â This score was a perfect 10 halfway through the session. Then came comments from Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne; Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody; and others like them, directed at fellow lawmakers who dared to challenge their bills.
Ultimately, Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, couldn't help but publicly put his foot in his mouth, calling a resident who dared to challenge his claims related to gender-affirming care a "f***ing idiot" in a text message and on his Facebook page. That latest violation of civility by Mr. Bouchard earned him a stern warning from the Senate president and a promise of more serious consequences if it happens again.
***
The final tally: 48 out of a possible 100 points, which is clearly a failing grade, just as it was at the end of the 2022 budget session. Could it have been worse? Of course, but that's hardly worth celebrating.
Were there some other "successes" this year? A few, including: restricting underage marriage; offering incentives designed to boost National Guard and Highway Patrol recruitment; creation of "Purple Star Schools"; and funding for volunteer firefighter pensions and EMS districts. But all of these are minor compared to the larger work that could have been done.
The bottom line is that most Wyoming legislators continue to be disconnected from reality, living in a fantasy world where residents aren't dying from illnesses that are entirely curable, if only they had health insurance, or ending their own lives at rates higher than anywhere else in the country.
The question we have to ask ourselves is how much longer we're going to allow them to continue to ignore these realities while focusing their energy on discriminating against those they disagree with.Â
No, the 67th Wyoming Legislature's general session didn't "position tomorrow's Wyoming leaders for success," and our current crop of leaders are anything but "far-sighted." If only they would stop trying to convince us otherwise and do the hard work that needs to be done.Â