House District 2 Legislative update
Much of my week was spent protecting private property rights, small town businesses, and rural counties. It’s a theme you are going to hear a lot from me in the days and weeks to come as we work many bills that sound interesting but will hurt House District 2.
This past week started with House Bill 118 Limitations on Net Land Gains for the Federal Government. Many of us agree that the federal government should not own any more land in Wyoming than it already does, but this bill trampled on our private property rights. Many amendments were offered that would have addressed the private property rights issues, but they were all voted down. Neither Speaker Neiman from House District 1 or myself voted for the bill because it put agricultural land and livelihood at risk.
We also heard the first of many voter registration and proof of residency bills, specifically this week we had House Bills 156 and 157, Proof of Voter Residency-registration qualifications. This bill would bring some changes for voting next cycle. A voter will need to prove they are a Wyoming resident at least 30 days before the election. For some who live in nursing homes or do not have a driver license, please take note as a voter will need some additional documentation. House Bill 157-Proof of voter citizenship, takes it one step further than our State Constitution that already requires voters to be United States citizens, and outlines the exact documents that will be accepted for proof of citizenship. Bills to protect our elections are important to me, I voted in favor of both measures.
House Bill 75, Coal Severance Tax rate, is an effort to give a little more relief to our coal companies by reducing the severance tax rate for coal by one half percent and continuing to provide protection for our legacy industries, the backbone of our state. This bill has one more reading in the House as I write this but I am confident it will pass. We passed an identical bill in the 2022 Budget Session.
We also heard House Bill 32-What is a Woman, a bill that sounds good but does nothing. I voted in favor but am looking forward this week to hearing two bills I have co-sponsored, House Bill 60 and 72, Student Eligibility in sports and Protecting women's privacy in public spaces act. Both bills seek to protect women by upholding the integrity of women's sports and maintaining the protection of women’s spaces in restrooms and locker rooms across the Cowboy State. We passed them out of the Education Committee on Friday the 24th.
House Bill 172 Repeal Gun Free School Zones was heavily debated and passed third reading this week. Many of you reached out to me about this bill and we discussed it in my town halls. Thank you to all of you who worked through the committee process to get it amended to the place it is now. I considered much of your feedback as I listened to your debate and as a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I voted in favor.
Protecting our small communities continued with my no vote on House Bill 169, Homeowners tax exemption, a bill that would reduce the property tax rate by 50% and backfill 50% of that property tax cut. This would take hardship counties in HD 2 back to the revenue levels of 2018. I made the case in the House of Representative that SMALL TOWNS ARE A BIG DEAL, and we were not interested in being more dependent on the state than we already are. There are many communities that desperately need property tax relief, and thankfully more and more people are taking advantage of the existing relief programs. Although this bill passed out of the house with no trouble, I educated the legislative body on the ramifications these policies will have in rural districts. It will be interesting to see how bills like this are worked in the Senate.
As we move into next week, protecting our freedoms, Wyoming way of life, livelihoods and communities will remain at top of my mind. Thank you for your support as I work for you. Please stay tuned and engaged as we head into another week!