Teton County legislators balk at Freedom Caucus plan

JACKSON — Some lawmakers in Teton County voiced their doubts about the “Five and Dime Plan” promoted by the hard-right Wyoming Freedom Caucus at the end of last week.

The Freedom Caucus established its majority power in the Wyoming House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 election and committed to passing five bills within the first 10 days of the upcoming legislative session.

The proposed legislation includes invalidating driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants by other states; prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusivity programs in all Wyoming higher education; and cutting property tax bills 25% for residential homeowners.

“But the House isn’t stopping there,” incoming House Majority Floor Leader John Bear, R-Gillette, said in a three-minute video crafted by the caucus. “We’ve got dozens of other priorities the Wyoming Freedom Caucus heard you asked for.”

A press conference on the entirety of the faction’s agenda is scheduled for Jan. 7, one day before members of the Teton County delegation meet in the County Administration Building to hear what their constituents want them to take on in Cheyenne.

Sen. Mike Gierau, a Democrat who will take his place as the Senate minority floor leader next month, said on Monday that the “Five and Dime Plan” was a “cheap trick.”

It wasn’t only Democrats who questioned the 10-day ambitions.

“I don’t see much overlap in the ‘Five and Dime Plan’ and what I heard while visiting constituents over the past two years,” said Rep. Andrew Byron, R-Hoback, who will chair a House committee as a second-term lawmaker. “What I have heard is we make sure Wyoming’s economy is stable and growing; that we support our legacy industries; we protect our beautiful landscape and recreational opportunities; that we continue to address the issues related to property taxes; that we continue to support rural hospitals and access to quality health care; and that we protect private property rights.”

Many of the bills are being brought back from past sessions.

At the top of the Freedom Caucus’ list of priorities was election integrity as it relates to further proof of residency and citizenship, which aligned with rules proposed earlier by Secretary of State Chuck Gray and rejected by Gov. Mark Gordon.

But the second, newer aspect is an attempt to invalidate licenses issued in 19 states and Washington, D.C.

“The ‘Five and Dime’ bills championed by the far-right are all based on false assumptions: Voter fraud doesn’t affect our elections; the University of Wyoming doesn’t teach students to blame fellow Americans, and so forth,” Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, said. “Take, for example, their bill to make some out-of-state driver’s licenses illegal. The Department of Homeland Security doesn’t use this tactic to initiate immigration proceedings, why should Wyoming? That bill will just make our roads less safe and increase our automobile insurance costs, while doing nothing meaningful to address illegal immigration. The ‘Five and Dime’ is nothing more than a cheap stunt that ignores the very real problems that Wyoming faces.”

The language in the draft driver’s license bill states “Any driver’s license or driving operating privilege card issued by another jurisdiction exclusively to unauthorized aliens or any driver’s license or driving operating privilege card that is substantially similar to driver’s licenses or driving operating privilege cards issued to United States citizens or permanent resident aliens that has markings establishing that the license or card holder did not provide proof of lawful presence shall be deemed invalid in this state.”

A person found guilty of driving a vehicle with a license of this type could face a misdemeanor with a punishment of up to six months in prison and up to a $750 fine.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation would create the rules necessary to implement the act. A WYDOT public affairs representative said Monday that the department had no comment.

However, members of the Teton County delegation questioned how the bill would play out in a county with one of the largest Latino populations in the state.

“The consequence of that bill would be to arrest and incarcerate a person with an invalid license presumably because they are an ‘unauthorized alien,’ ” Byron said. “Is this what we want in Wyoming? Is this a good use of taxpayer money? The concept is reasonable but the bill was poorly written by some Washington, D.C., lawyer. Wyoming deserves better.”

Gierau wondered if all drivers with an out-of-state license would have to stop at the state border and get their citizenship papers and passport checked next.

“That’s going to have a bit of a chilling effect on travel,” he said.

Gierau said the Freedom Caucus needs to focus on Wyoming and not branch out to the other 49 states. He wondered about the consequences of “monkeying with” which driver’s licenses were going to be valid in which states.

“What happens if another state says, ‘Well, we don’t like Wyoming policy, so we’re not going to let Wyoming driver’s licenses be valid in our state?’ ” Gierau asked.

When it came to the entirety of the 10-day plan, the nearly two-decade lawmaker said the Wyoming Senate still stands in the way.

However, Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, noted that the Senate has “yet to caucus,” or meet, for the upcoming session. He anticipates that will be done the weekend before lawmakers return to the Capitol on Jan. 14. He didn’t comment on the specifics of the House proposal.

All of the bills the House plans to pass with its majority will cross over to the 30-person upper chamber, which has some Freedom Caucus allies, but is largely more diverse in its Republicans. Gierau said he isn’t sure that many of the proposals would stay the same or survive.

“They want to make us fear someone else’s decision,” Gierau said. “Why don’t we be proactive and do stuff to help our citizens, instead of telling other states what they’re doing wrong?”

This story was published on January 2, 2024.