Legislators optimistic early in session
The Wyoming Legislature is in session, and amongst our area legislators I sense a lot of optimism.
Most of them stopped by the Little America Hotel last week during the Wyoming Press Association convention, and I appreciated the good conversations about what bills they’re pushing and what they see as important goals to accomplish during this session.
Gov. Mark Gordon, who once again came to speak in front of the convention as well, also expressed some cautious optimism, even though one of the thrusts of many legislators this session is to pass bills, such as ones abolishing most gun free zones and cutting property taxes, that the governor vetoed last year.
Gordon said they have a lot of big ideas, only some of which will come to fruition. Of course, that’s the case every session, but I’m still happy to see our legislators going after those big ideas.
Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) has been at the forefront of many discussions this year as the new head of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which now controls the State House of Representatives. Whether or not you agree with many of her positions and those of her caucus, there’s something to be said for having a Park County legislator in such a position of power, able to understand the specific needs and find the remedies for what constituents in northwest Wyoming want to see done.
To that end, Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) is now a member of the powerful Joint Appropriations Committee, which has the power of the state purse strings.
For some of our area legislators, like Sen. Tim French (R-Powell) and Rep. Dalton Banks (R-Cowley), this is their second go-around at a general session and thus we should see them even more comfortable in their roles. For others, such as Rep. Paul Hoeft (R-Powell) and Rep. Nina Webber (R-Cody), this is their first session. Hopefully they are able to get up to speed (I can tell you from our talk, Hoeft is certainly working on it and still putting forth bills, while planning others for next year) as they begin their important work as our representatives.
At his speech to the members of the press, speaking in regards to a question on the state of the Legislature, Gordon mentioned the wisdom of Founding Fathers such as Alexander Hamilton and James Madison talking about the brakes necessary to ensure Congress is not overly dominant.
Many of our legislators are a part of, or friendly to, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which in certain respects has argued in opposition to the governor’s goals. And while the governor does have the power of the veto, so too, do the legislators have the power of the veto proof majority.
It will be interesting to see this session how often both of those powers are used.
Hopefully, our legislators keep their eyes on the goal of continuing to represent their constituents, don’t shy away from big ideas, and continue to keep an open communication throughout the session.