Legislative Lowdown: The end is in sight!

Only one day remains before Wyoming’s 68th Legislature is scheduled to wrap on March 6. Legislators are racing to debate the last bills standing and committees are beginning to narrow down topics to address during the interim.

There’s been no shortage of drama in the waning days of the session, with both successes and setbacks for our conservation priorities. Read on for the latest and a look ahead to what we can expect after the legislature adjourns.

BUDGETARY PANDEMONIUM AND WILDFIRE RESTORATION FUNDING

The big story at the Capitol in the past week was the Senate’s decision not to pass a supplemental budget, throwing funding priorities across the spectrum into disarray. With Gov. Gordon’s supplemental budget request for wildfire restoration funding suddenly at risk, Wyoming faced a tough situation — and an impending onslaught of invasive grasses. Fortunately, forward-thinking legislators worked two separate bills to ensure funding for this critical restoration work.

The more straight-forward and generous of the two, Senate File 148, failed to pass Committee of the Whole in the House in time. But the other, Senate File 152, made it past both chambers for the governor to sign. SF152 is a classic compromise: It falls short of the original $130 million request, but will allow the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust to distribute nearly $50 million in grants (not loans!) to combat invasive weeds. We are grateful to everyone who got this money out the door — and more will surely be needed when the legislature reconvenes next year.

GOOD-TURNED-BAD ROOFTOP SOLAR BILL FAILS IN THE SENATE

Hot off the press! Last night, after a lengthy debate and four new amendments from the Senate, House Bill 183 met its demise in a nail-biting 15–16 vote. The death of this bill means that no significant changes to the state’s net metering law will pass the legislature this year.

Rooftop solar advocates and customers can expect another year of retail-rate net metering. While it was disappointing to watch this well-intended bill take a turn for the worse, the strong bipartisan and community support rooftop solar received shows how far we’ve come. For the first time in nine years, we saw promising attempts at a compromise and made surprising alliances that will hopefully push us towards a better bill in years to come.

Thanks to all our supporters who spoke up in favor of rooftop solar this session — legislators noticed and it made all the difference in this debate!

DEAD BILLS: A MIXED BAG

Sometimes legislative deadlines work in our favor — other times, not so much! Last week, several bills met their end for failing to be reported out of committee or pass Committee of the Whole in their second house. One of these was House Bill 118, a terrible bill for public lands and private property rights. The death of HB118 is good news: It means that willing entities can still pursue land exchanges and sales with the federal government, creating opportunities to expand public land acreage and access in Wyoming.

Unfortunately, these deadlines cut both ways. Two bills we had high hopes for — Senate File 99 and Senate File 139 — went out with a whimper. SF99 would have improved financial stability for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, while SF139 would have opened the door for common sense trapping reform that could keep Wyomingites and their pets safer. It was a disappointment to see these bills fall by the wayside and a reminder that sometimes it’s easier to kill a bad bill than pass a good one.

Thank you for sticking with us these past seven weeks! Each victory we celebrated would have been impossible if not for the steadfast engagement of citizens like you carving out time to write to your legislators on the issues that matter.

Now it’s time to catch our collective breaths and plan ahead for the interim, when we expect nuclear waste storage, renewable energy, and wildfire restoration to remain hot topics — among others! We’ll be sharing a Conservation Vote Report in the coming weeks for a deep dive on key legislation from this past session, so keep an eye out.