By Noah Zahn

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

Via Wyoming News Exchange

 

CHEYENNE — On the heels of the 2026 session, state legislative leaders got back to work Wednesday to outline their priorities for the rest of the year until the 2027 legislative session.

A wide array of topics was proposed, including ongoing ones like continued dives into Wyoming’s elections and gambling industry, as well as new topics like removing the speed bumps from the garage under the state Capitol and looking to create Olympic curling stones in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Management Council met in Cheyenne to discuss the proposals that were submitted by the state’s 19 committees of state lawmakers before the end of the 2026 legislative session.

Representing the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee, Sen. Cale Case, R-Casper, and Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, presented a list that placed fraud protection and election reviews ahead of 911 funding and electricity rates. Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, challenged this hierarchy, asking why election reform bills — of which several have failed over the past few sessions — were being prioritized over the “safety and reliability” of 911 and rising electric bills.

“I hear we want to do the election review again and redo the same bills that just died three weeks ago … in exchange for 911 funding,” Nethercott said. Case defended the ranking as a result of a democratic vote within the committee, but admitted, “If it were my dictatorship, I would not go down the road of elections this year.”

Management Council members eventually passed a motion to elevate electricity and Public Service Commission issues to the committee’s top priority.

The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee decided to take a “cooling off period” regarding the controversial “corner-crossing” trespass issue. 

Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, noted that while the topic is important, it was best to “let that one sit over on the side for a little bit” following the failure of related legislation earlier this year.

Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Casper, co-chair of the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, noted that WTI crude oil had hit $100 a barrel, which he said is “good news for the state of Wyoming” but bad for the consumer, before detailing a review of the Wyoming Business Council.

However, the committee’s seventh priority caught the Management Council’s attention: curling stones. Anderson explained that the committee wanted to explore sourcing the stones in-state, noting they can cost up to $10,000 each and adding there is a global supply shortage.

“Everybody has to have something that’s a little fun on their committee,” Anderson said.

The Joint Education Committee plans to study the “educational basket of goods” and the impact of artificial intelligence in classrooms. 

The Select Committee on Blockchain, meanwhile, saw a topic regarding data center water consumption struck from its list, with the Management Council deciding that such utility-heavy issues belonged in the Minerals Committee instead.

The Management Council also addressed growing concerns that the “catch titles” — the short descriptive names given to bills — are sometimes misleading. During public comment, Marguerite Herman of the League of Women Voters urged the Management Council to ensure these titles remain objective.

“What we really want to avoid is a misunderstanding of what a legislator has voted on,” Herman said. “The voting public who is doing research on candidates should have an accurate catch title in order to some extent understand … what the bill is.”

In response, Nethercott successfully moved to direct the Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process to review rules and statutes regarding catch titles to prevent them from becoming too political.

The Joint Revenue Committee received approval to continue its work on property tax reform. Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper, said that the committee’s top priority would be a broad cleanup of property tax laws, including exploring “alternative revenue options to replace residential property tax.” The committee also plans to study the application of governmental property tax exemptions to ensure rules are applied uniformly across the state.

As a bill to update Wyoming’s public records laws failed in the session following the 2025 interim discussion, the topic came up again. 

Case highlighted the burden placed on state agencies by commercial entities, noting that “data miners from outside the state” are filing “enormously burdensome public records requests for information that they then resell.” 

The Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee was directed to continue its working group to study how to distinguish between private citizens seeking information and commercial entities seeking to profit from public data.

With the gambling industry continuing to grow in Wyoming, the Select Committee on Gaming was given the green light to continue to operate for another year to discuss legislation aimed at balancing government regulation and free market values in the interim.

As the meeting moved into other business, the Management Council approved several new initiatives. This included a task force to study the affordability of private health insurance and a directive for the Legislative Service Office to add an “ethics training” segment to the pre-session orientation for all legislators.

Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, also brought forward a proposal regarding a security fund, which would provide grants for personal security measures like video doorbells and alarm systems in response to rising political violence.

Before adjourning into executive session, the Management Council addressed a concern for those working in the Capitol: the speed bumps in the underground parking garage. Chairman Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, directed LSO to draft a letter asking for their removal after a discussion about how the speed bumps sometimes cause safety concerns.

“This is my parting gift for the Legislature as I leave,” said Biteman, who has announced he plans to run for Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I want to make the place a better place and less spilled coffee in the morning.”