February 9, 2023 |
At the Wyoming Legislature Wednesday, the Senate passed another law prohibiting medical procedures on children related to gender reassignment.
Senate File 144, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Bouchard of Cheyenne, sailed through third reading on a 26-5 vote. Yesterday’s margin was wider than the 22-9 vote last week on SF 111—Child Abuse-Change of Sex—sponsored by Natrona County’s Charles Scott.
Senator Larry Hicks of Carbon County was an “aye” vote on both bills.
Before Wednesday’s vote, Sen. Stephan Pappas questioned whether passage of the bill, which has an effective date of July 1, 2023, would pit Wyoming against an upcoming federal mandate from the Biden administration requiring insurance companies must pay for gender-altering procedures on children.
The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Bouchard, said insurance companies present during committee hearings on the legislation did not raise any concerns.
SF 144, also known as “Chloe’s Law” passed the Senate Labor last week on a unanimous 5-0 vote. Sen. Pappas, despite his concerns about potential conflicts with insurance companies, vote “aye.” The legislation now goes to the House.
