Pronoun bill passes House with penalty language added back in

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A bill banning compelled usage of preferred pronouns has passed the Wyoming House of Representatives.

Senate File 77, “Compelled speech is not free speech,” will head back to the Senate with original penalty language added back in. The measure would prohibit the state from requiring its employees to refer to each other by their preferred pronoun.

Members of the public have testified in committee that they worry transgender citizens could feel targeted by the bill, but during committee of the whole debate on Feb. 14, Rep. Jayme Lien, R-Cheyenne, said that the bill is not “a bullying or harassment authorization.”

Lien further brought an amendment to the bill proposed in the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee to re-insert penalty language to SF 77, which had been removed in the Senate. The House voted in favor of adding the penalty back to the legislation.

“This reinstates the original penalty, granting immunity from tort liability and liability on contracts,” Lien said. “This says that those individuals that have lost their jobs around our state for not referring to a student as a preferred pronoun do, in fact, have authorization to come back and remain employed.”

As amended, SF 77 will now have to receive a concurrence vote in the Senate to move forward.

This story was published on February 20, 2025.