Summary
The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 60-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 30-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. There are no term limits for either chamber.
The Republican Party holds a supermajority in the current legislature, which began meeting in 2019; 51 of the 60 seats in the House and 28 of the 30 seats in the Senate are held by Republicans.
Source: Wikipedia
OnAir Post: WY Legislature
News
The Joint Agriculture Committee Tuesday revived a controversial gun rights bill on a split-second, unannounced vote moments before the committee adjourned in a move lambasted by critics for its lack of transparency.
The bill, last session’s Senate File 81 – Second Amendment Preservation Act, would prevent agents of the state from enforcing any federal law or regulation that restricts a citizen’s right to carry firearms. A heavily amended version of the legislation passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin in March, but died without a hearing in the House when it failed to meet a key procedural deadline.
Tuesday’s measure passed on a 7-4 vote.
The Wyoming Legislature entered the 2021 legislative session with a lofty agenda to cut education spending, stall revenue declines and guide a Wyoming economy battered by COVID-19 to a sustainable future.
But in one of the longest legislative sessions in history, lawmakers accomplished few of those goals. While ratifying significant cuts to government previously proposed by Gov. Mark Gordon, they killed numerous proposals to raise revenues to offset those cuts. And with education funding a top priority, an education funding reform bill died on the negotiating table on the session’s final day, prompting Gordon to announce he will take an active role in future discussions.
Gordon was also prompted to intervene, he said, by the continued decline of fossil fuel-based tax revenues and what he described as “uncertainty” the Biden administration has created for states like Wyoming that depend heavily on fossil fuels.
About
Source: Wikipedia
History
The Wyoming State Legislature began like other Western states as a territorial legislature, with nearly (though with not all) the parliamentary regulations that guide other fully-fledged state legislatures.
Women’s Suffrage
During its territorial era, the Wyoming Legislature played a crucial role in the Suffragette Movement in the United States. In 1869, only four years following the American Civil War, and another 35 years before women’s suffrage became a highly visible political issue in both the U.S., Britain, and elsewhere, the Wyoming Legislature granted all women above the age of 21 the right to vote. The legislature’s move made Wyoming the first territory of the United States where women were explicitly granted the voting franchise. News spread quickly to other neighboring territories and states. In 1870, the Utah Territorial Legislature followed suit and granted the voting franchise to women.
The move by the legislature was motivated by a number of factors, including bringing Eastern women to the territory to increase its population (it has consistently been among the least-populated states in America), to publicize the new territory, to bring more voters into the fold (both for existing political elites and again due to its small population), and by genuine concerns that women should be allowed the vote.
Due to the territory’s change of voting laws in 1869, the U.S. Congress was hostile to Wyoming and its legislature. During proceedings to make Wyoming a U.S. state in 1889 and 1890 in writing a new constitution that would continue female suffrage, Congress threatened to withhold statehood unless women’s suffrage were abolished.
After the Wyoming Legislature and territorial government sent a telegram back to Washington with the ultimatum that Wyoming would remain a territory rather than become a state without women’s suffrage, Congress withdrew its threat, and on July 10, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed into law Wyoming becoming the 44th U.S. state.
Wyoming’s early entry into female politics continued into the 20th century. In 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first elected female governor of a U.S. state.
See also
- Wyoming State Capitol
- Wyoming House of Representatives
- Wyoming Senate
- 2018 Wyoming State Senate election
Wikipedia
The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 62-member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 31-member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. There are no term limits for either chamber.
The Republican Party holds a supermajority in the current legislature, which began meeting in 2023; 57 of the 62 seats in the House and 29 of the 31 seats in the Senate are held by Republicans.
History
The Wyoming State Legislature began like other Western states as a territorial legislature, with nearly (though with not all) the parliamentary regulations that guide other fully-fledged state legislatures.
Women's Suffrage
During its territorial era, the Wyoming Legislature played a crucial role in the Suffragette Movement in the United States. In 1869, only four years following the American Civil War, and another 35 years before women's suffrage became a highly visible political issue in both the U.S., Britain, and elsewhere, the Wyoming Legislature granted all women above the age of 21 the right to vote. The legislature's move made Wyoming the first territory of the United States where women were explicitly granted the voting franchise. News spread quickly to other neighboring territories and states. In 1870, the Utah Territorial Legislature followed suit and granted the voting franchise to women.
The move by the legislature was motivated by a number of factors, including bringing Eastern women to the territory to increase its population (it has consistently been among the least-populated states in America), to publicize the new territory, to bring more voters into the fold (both for existing political elites and again due to its small population), and by genuine concerns that women should be allowed the vote.
Due to the territory's change of voting laws in 1869, the U.S. Congress was hostile to Wyoming and its legislature. During proceedings to make Wyoming a U.S. state in 1889 and 1890 in writing a new constitution that would continue female suffrage, Congress threatened to withhold statehood unless women's suffrage were abolished.
After the Wyoming Legislature and territorial government sent a telegram back to Washington with the ultimatum that Wyoming would remain a territory rather than become a state without women's suffrage, Congress withdrew its threat, and on July 10, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed into law Wyoming becoming the 44th U.S. state.
Wyoming's early entry into female politics continued into the 20th century. In 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first elected female governor of a U.S. state.[1]
See also
- Wyoming State Capitol
- Wyoming House of Representatives
- Wyoming Senate
- List of Wyoming state legislatures
References
- ^ "Nellie Tayloe Ross Biography". Encyclopedia Britannica. July 2, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
External links
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