Wyoming Legislature adjourns with no more veto overrides
CHEYENNE — Members of the 68th Wyoming Legislature adjourned Wednesday without successfully overriding any of the three bills they considered on the last day of their budget session.
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, moved that the Senate override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of Senate File 119, “Strategic investments and projects account-repeal-2.” Without discussion, the motion in the Senate failed 20-10, since veto overrides require two-thirds plus one vote in both the Senate and House to pass.
In his veto letter, Gordon cited concerns that the legislation “unnecessarily restricts the Executive Branch’s constitutional role in recommending and balancing the state budget,” as it would repeal a statutory mechanism that allows a portion of earnings from the state’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund to flow into the Strategic Investments and Projects Account, redirecting those funds to reserve accounts instead of the general fund.
“Upon review of each section of this Act, something less innocuous may also be afoot: limiting the Chief Executive’s ability to make budget recommendations by reducing access to revenue, thereby establishing an unreasonable one-sidedness between the Executive and Legislative branches,” Gordon wrote in his Friday letter.
Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, brought a motion to override Gordon’s veto on Senate File 101, “Second amendment protection act amendments-3.”
That motion failed 12-18.
On Tuesday, Gordon’s office said in a news release that SF 101 had led to “serious concerns raised by Wyoming Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police,” and that those concerns were echoed by Trump administration federal law enforcement officials, who “warned the legislation could weaken critical cooperation between Wyoming law enforcement and federal agencies combating violent crime, firearms trafficking, and cartel activity.”
In a letter to the governor, Acting Director Todd Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cautioned that the bill, while framed as a Second Amendment protection measure, could instead undermine law enforcement efforts.
“The legislation undermines law enforcement by threatening Wyoming police officers with criminal charges, civil lawsuits, and steep financial penalties for their employers simply for cooperating with federal law enforcement on firearm investigations, even when those investigations target violent offenders, traffickers, or organized criminal networks,” Lyons wrote.
The ICE letter further warned that restricting cooperation between federal and local law enforcement could make it harder to dismantle criminal networks responsible for firearms trafficking and cross-border smuggling.
After the failed veto override votes in the Senate, Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, addressed the body on his last day as Senate president.
“We have united as a body to provide Wyoming with steady, conservative leadership that will carry our state into the future with strength and opportunity,” Biteman said. “This body is filled with people of great character and a diverse range of political ideologies.”
Biteman lauded the Senate for its cuts to property taxes, support of Wyoming’s energy future, fiscal restraint in budgeting and laws that he said strengthen election integrity, all of which he said he saw in his time as president.
“We have delivered major policy wins for our children’s education,” Biteman said, citing expanded funding for Hathaway scholarships, support for school choice and the new recalibration model as examples.
“(We) fortified our public K-12 education system for years to come with a monumental recalibration bill that the Senate saved, I might add, and passed,” Biteman said.
Gordon addressed the Senate next, calling the four-week budget session a long one, but one in which leaders built a “better, bigger Wyoming.”
“One of the things that I believe that we can do here, that not very many other places can, is that we can talk with each other. We can agree, and we can disagree. We all understand that those disagreements can be substantial, but we still can work together,” he said.
Gordon thanked the Senate for its leadership on the budget bill, as the upper chamber reverted back to his recommendations on second reading after a Joint Appropriations Committee bill was sent to the floor at the start of session with significant reductions, including to state employee wages and a $40 million cut to the University of Wyoming.
“Thank you for the employee compensation, and the way you handled UW,” he said to the Senate. “I do believe that if we stay pro-business, pro-growth, pro-personal liberty, pro-property, that is what this state is built on, and it will continue to thrive with that.”
House adjourns
On the final day of the 2026 budget session, the House of Representatives failed to muster the two-thirds majority necessary to override the governor’s veto of HB 178, “Public unions-transparency and dues withdrawal limitations.” The measure aimed to prohibit public employers from using public funds or facilities to facilitate automatic payroll deductions for labor organization dues, fees or political contributions. Under the proposed law, any person violating these restrictions would have been guilty of a misdemeanor, facing potential fines of up to $1,000 or six months in jail.
The bill’s primary impact would have been the elimination of the “opt-in” convenience for many public workers, including teachers and health workers, to have union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. Proponents, including the bill’s sponsor, Rep. JD Williams, R-Lusk, argued the measure protected public resources and responded to constituent concerns.
However, the legislation explicitly exempted certain groups, such as firefighters and public safety agencies, from these new restrictions.
Gordon vetoed the bill on Tuesday, issuing a letter that criticized the influence of “out-of-state interests foisting out-of-state solutions on Wyoming.” In his statement, Gordon described the bill as a “thinly veiled attempt to frustrate the choices an employee can make with their own earned money.”
He argued that because Wyoming is already a “right-to-work” state, the government should trust citizens to make their own financial decisions. Gordon also raised concerns regarding the “punitive” nature of the bill, noting that “creating disparity between those employees by allowing the simple convenience of an opt-in automatic deduction ... for some but not others is ... subject to legal challenge at worst.”
During the final floor debate, Williams acknowledged the “loud voices” of lobbyists, but urged his colleagues to listen to the “quiet voices” of residents in districts like his.
Despite his efforts, the vote to override failed with 36 ayes and 21 nays, falling short of the 42 votes required to move the override attempt to the Senate.
Before the House adjourned for a final time this session, House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, addressed the body, saying it has been an honor to serve the state in this role and thanking the chamber for its work.
“I’ve learned a lot, and I appreciate all of your patience as you guys have had to put up with somebody that maybe wasn’t quite as ... schooled or knowledgeable in how this thing really should have run. But I think together, working and helping each other, we have done an exemplary job in this House,” he said.
He added that he is proud of the body for its work in protecting the “rights of the unborn,” despite the potential for further legal challenges that may come the state’s way.
At the end of his speech, Neiman said he isn’t sure where all the legislators will be this time next year, but he announced his intent to run for state Senate.
This story was published on March 12, 2026.