There’s a lot of ground to cover. We’re going to try to keep it short however, and to the point.
Bills We Favor (out of what is on the table)
- HB1002 Federal COVID vaccine mandates-prohibition and remedies-2. 8 page bill; 8 sponsors.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Sommers, Greear and Olsen and Senator(s) Dockstader, Driskill, Hicks, Kinskey and Schuler.
We would love to see this bill strengthened. The “police power” from Article 10, Section 2 of the WY State Constitution would be our first suggestion.
This one is worth fighting for – but chances of winning are low.
- HB1007 COVID and mRNA vaccines-limitations and prohibitions-2. 9 pages, 2 sponsors
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Laursen and Senator(s) Bouchard
We really appreciate this bill honing in on the mRNA aspect of the purported “vaccines“. Short, sweet and to the point can potentially facilitate this bill moving forward. This one is worth fighting for – and we might win. - HB1012 Healthcare professionals-right to prescribe medication-2. 4 pages; 2 sponsors
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Laursen and Senator(s) Bouchard
The intent of this bill is ever so refreshing to hear come out of the mouths of WY lawmakers. The annihilation of the private doctor-patient relationship has been both significant and historical in the damage and LOSS that our nation has suffered for the last 1 1/2 years.
This one is worth fighting for – every day and clear into next 2022 session if need be. - HB1003 COVID-19 discriminatory practices-prohibition-2. 14 page bill; 21 sponsors
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Gray, Bear, Greear, Haroldson, Heiner, Jennings, Knapp, Neiman, Ottman, Rodriguez-Williams and Styvar and Senator(s) Cooper, Dockstader, Driskill, French, Hicks, Hutchings, McKeown, Salazar, Schuler and Steinmetz.
If You had to Pick Your Poison
HB1009 COVID-19 response. 12 pages; 2 sponsors
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Barlow and Senator(s) Kinskey
Were not huge fans of this bill by any stretch. It does have some noteworthy provisions all in one bill such as: liability for employers; severance pay; opt-in choice for alternative measures; provisions for injuries, etc.
The main reason we mention this bill: Since the House Speaker is a sponsor, this bill likely has more potential moving forward than most other bills. HB1009 would/could/should be thrown up as an alternative to HB1001 (the worst bill of all in our opinion) if leadership becomes hellbent on HB1001. In other words, if you had to pick your poison, and HB1001 and HB1009 were the choices – we would go with the latter and try to encourage amendments thereafter.
Politics Usually Drives What Bills Are Most Likely to Pass, and Which are Most Likely to Fail
There is a completely different perspective one can take in attempting to predict what bills are likely to pass. All of these points are offensive, but based in reality:
- Much (not all) of the legislative leadership are RINOs
- RINOs do not like constitutional language; the doctrines and concepts of a constitutional republic that true conservatives educate themselves in, and the language those concepts are intrinsically tied to are visibly disturbing if not outright offensive to RINOs, Liberals and every one else to the left. This means that our #1 favored bill above is not likely to pass.
- The same point is true regarding constitutional conservative legislators – the RINOs don’t like them. That means they don’t like their bills either.
- Taking into account bill sponsorship is key to predicting the politics that will play out in the passage of bills. The bill we like the least is HB1001 COVID-19 vaccine employer mandates. In fact we hate this bill. Why? Because, in our opinion, it actually codifies vaccine employer mandates. The title of the bill accurately describes exactly what it does. The bill covers a lot of ground, seems to be tightly planned and tightly written, and is endorsed by 22 sponsors – some names we are surprised to see by the way. More pointedly however is that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House are sponsors. A horrible bill – yet with their clout, along with 20 more sponsors, leads us to believe that this bill will actually become one of the few bills that will pass. Sorry. Just being honest.
- The Democrats opposed having a special session at all. But now that this train has left the station, they will most likely support the worst bills and may also offer amendments to make it even worse. It’s kinda like what they do with crossover votes during elections – build the numbers to pass (or elect) what conservatives do not want.
You need to Know
- About our WY Constitution Article 1, Section 38: We love hearing people cite constitutional provisions.. however, a lot of people are forgetting about subsection c. We have been very concerned that the legislature just might pull that out and really stick it to us. Just so ya know.
Article 1, Section 38. Right of health care access.
(a) Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions. The parent, guardian or legal representative of any other natural person shall have the right to make health care decisions for that person.
(b) Any person may pay, and a health care provider may accept, direct payment for health care without imposition of penalties or fines for doing so.
(c) The legislature may determine reasonable and necessary restrictions on the rights granted under this section to protect the health and general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in the Wyoming Constitution.
(d) The state of Wyoming shall act to preserve these rights from undue governmental infringement.
A Necessary Defensive
- Plan for the worst. Look at HB1001 and any other bill you believe is wretched – find the worst areas in the bill and try to write amendments to remove or lessen nasty provisions. Be prepared to have an intelligent, but short, discussion with receptive conservative legislators to offer these amendments to.
- Take a look at our Poll Vote Cheat Sheet posted yesterday. The only legislators to somewhat trust are the ones with a red R or a gray L (for Libertarian). Do not trust any of the others, and most especially any of the Dems.
- In fact, we do not recommend including any of the Democrats in your correspondence regarding bills or amendments.
- The time you might least want to pay attention during this special session is exactly when you should:
- if their running late at night – watch for dirty-trick amendments. If you catch a bad amendment – blow the whistle to your contacts regardless of what time it is. Flood legislators with emails immediately to get that amendment amended back out ASAP!
- keep an eye on the conference committees – listen to every live audio. Make sure that the written amendments from negotiations and agreements that take place are clear and concise, and not some jabber that makes no sense later – yet still becomes codified as law. Like what happened with Rep Sue Wilson and 2021 HB0127.
Keep An Eye Out
- Most hospitals are not-for-profit entities. As such, they are NOT allowed to attempt to effect legislative bills. If you read, hear or see any lobbying for or against any of these bills by hospital boards or leadership – call them out on it. Speak loudly from whatever platforms you use so we all know who is breaking the law.
