Wyoming Senate introduces wide range of bills on housing, education, health care and economic development

The Wyoming Senate used its Feb. 13 session to introduce a broad package of bills covering housing, eminent domain, budget process changes, education finance and maintenance, health-care access and a suite of economic-development measures.

Key introductions and outcomes included:

- Senate File 117 (Pappas): Zoning protest petition amendments to make it harder for nearby neighbors to block rezonings. Introductory vote passed 28–3; referred to committee 7 (corporations, elections and political subdivisions).

- Senate File 118 (Hicks): Requires local governments to secure legislative permission before exercising eminent domain on water projects when using state funds; introduction passed 22–9 and referred to committee 1 (judiciary).

- Senate File 119 (Hicks): Repeal of the Strategic Investments and Projects Account to simplify capital-finance flows; intro passed 27–4 and referred to committee 2 (appropriations).

- Senate File 120 (Dockstader): K–12 school facilities major maintenance funding; intro passed 25–6 and referred to committee 2 (appropriations).

- Senate File 121 (Gockstatter): Wyoming Pharmacy Act amendments to expand pharmacist prescribing authority and immunization access for rural communities; intro passed 29–2 and referred to committee 10 (labor).

- Senate File 122 (Dockstader): Moves insurer medical‑necessity decision timelines from 45 days to 21 to protect rural hospitals’ cash flow; intro passed 30–1 and referred to committee 10 (labor).

- Senate File 81 (Salazar): Recalibration of K–12 public-school finance brought forward by the recalibration committee; unanimous introduction and referred to committee 4 (education).

- Senate File 124 (Driscoll): Economic-development measure to attract a rodeo museum with projected local impact; intro passed 26–5 and referred to committee 2 (appropriations).

- Senate File 125 (Crump): Amendments to extend and fund the Wyoming Business Council temporarily and create an interim task force; intro passed 25–6 and referred to committee 9 (minerals).

- Senate File 126 (Anderson): Wyoming–Ireland Trade Commission to expand trade and exchanges; intro passed 23–8 and referred to committee 9 (minerals).

Several other bills were read for second and third readings, and a consent list of bills on third reading was adopted and passed. The Senate scheduled committee meetings across appropriations, labor, education, minerals and other committees to take up the newly referred measures.