House divided — Legislators disagree on session’s success

The 2025 Wyoming Legislature came to a close on March 6 after 37 days in Cheyenne. During this time, a total of 556 bills and resolutions were numbered for introduction between the two chambers, according to a press release from the Legislative Service Office. This same release reports that 178 of those bills passed. According to Rep. J.D. Williams, R-Lusk, the LSO drafted over 800 bills and over 1,500 amendments.

“Of the 347 House Bills numbered for introduction, 95 were not considered for introduction, which means they never made it out of the speaker’s drawer. Of the 209 Senate Files numbered for introduction, all were considered for introduction,” Williams said in his weekly update. “The number of bills that die in the speaker’s drawer, or any drawer for that matter, is often used as a political cudgel but is nothing new and often over emphasized.”

He noted that letting a bill die is the option of the speaker, majority floor leader or committee chair.

“They prioritize the bills, and if there are too many bills to be considered in the time allowed, some must die,” Williams said.

“Of the 209 pieces of legislation that were introduced in the Senate, 99 of those bills passed both the House and Senate. The House introduced 225 bills and 79 of those garnered the approval of both bodies,” the LSO release says.

“23% of the House Bills passed both houses, and 47% of the Senate Files passed both houses,” Williams said. “These numbers suggest the Senate was turning out a little higher quality of policy work, as their success percentage was about twice that of the House.”

He noted that some of this may be attributed to the high percentage of freshman legislators in the House and the trend of running national hot-button issue bills that have a hard time being applied in Wyoming.

“What is disappointing to me was the fact that committee bills that had much time and money invested in them over the interim were given less priority than national social issue bills carried by freshman legislators,” Williams said.

According to the LSO, “Forty-seven percent of committee bills passed both chambers, while 27 percent of the individually sponsored bills passed both bodies.”

If the committee bills are not going to be heard, Williams suggests that perhaps the value of the legislative committee meetings throughout the year should be re-evaluated.

“There were many bills we discussed that were pretty similar to each other and similar to existing law but were discussed again because of out-of-state influence,” Williams said. “Probably not the best use of our time.”

Further, Williams said this session was different from what he remembered in the past. He said that traditionally, the Legislature has focused on the future generations.

“But this year was different. There is a new class of legislators who do not share that vision,” Williams said, questioning when the Legislature lost its way.

“There was little or no appetite to support existing rural health care and maternity/OB services. Likewise, support for community mental health providers for adolescents garnered a minority of votes,” Williams said.

He continued that amendments to support mental health, vulnerable adults, adult protective services and the elderly were consistently voted down.

“I understand that the state cannot be everything to everybody, but there was a time when we were willing to do what we could where we could,” Williams said. Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, on the other hand, said he was proud of the work the House did during the 2025 session.

According to Neiman, the Legislature was able to address issues from election integrity to protecting the unborn.

When it comes to election integrity, information provided by Neiman shows that bills passed that address proof of residency, ban “Zuck Bucks” and strengthen voter ID statutes.

Other areas mentioned by Neiman included protecting Wyoming’s core industries, immigration accountability, protecting women and girls, restoring meritocracy, First Amendment rights, protecting children and tax relief.

When it comes to tax relief, Neiman said a long-term 25% residential property tax cut was signed into law after passing both the House and Senate.

Williams, on the other hand, expressed concerns with property tax cuts.

“There are a half a dozen property tax bills in play that have complicated the property tax conversation to the point that not even the Department of Revenue can accurately forecast their impact,” Williams said, noting that the one bill the people asked for by voting for Constitutional Amendment A in the 2024 election did not pass the Legislature.

“That bill was SF 153, which established a fourth class of property tax by separating residential property from ‘all others.’ Minerals are taxed on 100% of their value, industrial is taxed at 11.5% of assessed value, and ‘all others’ are taxed at 9.5% of assessed value,” he said.

This bill would have allowed the Legislature to adjust the rate that residential property is taxed, he said.

“Until like legislation is passed, all the existing residential property tax relief measures we have in place may have constitutional issues,” Williams said. “The big winners from the 2025 General Session just might be the trial lawyers, as more than a few of these bills are heading straight to court.”

He also lamented what he felt was an emphasis on national issues during the recent session.

“The majority of the House of Representatives enthusiastically supported legislation tailored around national political issues. Many of these bills could probably be best described as “resolutions,” as they make a political statement but won’t really have a noticeable impact on Wyomingites’ daily lives,” Williams asserted.

In her legislative wrap-up, however, Sen. Cheri Steinmetz applauded the change happening at both the state and national level.

“As one of the most conservative areas in the state, we have an opportunity to unite and serve on behalf of the people who elected us as their representatives. The people of Wyoming and America have sent a clear message: They want a return to conservative Republican values in governance,” she said. “Sometimes, that demand for change creates discomfort as long-established systems are questioned and laws are reformed. However, we must remember that we are stewards of an elected constitutional republic.”

Steinmetz also updated readers on the status of bills she sponsored. Two bills, Senate File  64 - Wyoming Opposes Mandatory Electronic ID Devices in Livestock and SF84 - Country of Origin Label USA Beef were both passed and signed by Gov. Mark Gordon.

Two others, SF - 103 Terminating and Defunding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and SF - 125 Defining Healthcare and Protecting the People’s Welfare were both vetoed by Gordon.

“Unfortunately, I am not surprised the governor chose to veto two of my bills. I guess I am just more conservative than he is. Actions speak louder than words,” she said.

Steinmetz asserts that now is the time for conservatives to stand strong and face trying times with boldness, courage and tenacity.

“We will not let disruptors, detractors or divisions define this important era. As we see those who would attempt to unravel the fabric of our communities and cause grievances among neighbors push to the forefront and demand recognition and reaction, we must hold fast, remain strong and ban(d) together to protect all that we cherish,” she said. “Those who value principles, commitment to country and faith in God will prevail in the end; however, it will come at a price. Stay the course, we have only just begun.”