October 27, 2021 |
Just ahead of a complicated procedural vote early in the afternoon meeting of the Special Session of the 66th Wyoming Legislature, Senate President Dan Dockstader summed up the convoluted procedures aptly.
It was both a unique and an historic day in Cheyenne. After attempts to change the rules of the 66th Wyoming Legislature failed in both the House and the Senate in the morning, simple majorities were found in the afternoon to keep going. The promised motions by leadership to adjourn and go home failed in both chambers by handy margins. The votes guaranteed that lawmakers will continue to meet under the pre-existing rules of the 66th.
The special session was called to address what leadership called “a critical situation…relating to COVID 19 mandates.” In their proclamation Senate President Dockstader and House Speaker Eric Barlow said the threat of private and governmental mandates required immediate action. During discussion Tuesday before the votes, some of the part-time lawmakers bristled at being called back to Cheyenne. House District 47 Representative, Don Burkhart, who had voted against the specials session, was one of the lawmakers who was excused from attending.
When it became apparent that the session could last as long as 20 days, Representative Chip Neiman delivered the some of the most pointed remarks of the day. Neiman, a rancher from Crook County, took aim at fellow legislators who expressed hardship by the session stretching out for maybe two weeks.
Teton County Representative Mike Yin argued for adjournment. The Jackson Democrat said he disagreed that the Biden mandate was unconstitutional, adding that that the issue should be handled in courts, whether it was the state suing Washington or individuals suing their employers. Yin also made a case for allowing businesses to discriminate against their employees and their customers on the basis of medical status. Yin compared the inoculation of a drug that could have dangerous side effects, compelled by the fear of being unemployed, with person who voluntarily chooses to smoke cigarettes.
Representative Chuck Grey of Casper has been among the strongest advocates in the legislature for pushing back against the vaccine mandates announced by Joe Biden last month. Yesterday, Grey said that the country stands at a pivotal point because of the mandate, a point that could change the course of our history.
The vote on the motion to adjourn and go home required only a simple majority of members present in the chambers — a much smaller hurdle than all previous votes required. The House voted 21 to 35 against adjourning. Representative Burkhart was not present, and excused. Representative Jerry Paxton, representing rural sections of Albany, Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, voted “aye” to adjourn. In the Senate, the vote was 6 to 23 against it. Senator Larry Hicks voted against adjourning.
After the motion to suspend the session was defeated, select bills were assigned to committees in both chambers. Lawmakers worked into the night on amendments. The two chambers convened at 8:30 this morning where the bills will be discussed and amended according to the normal rules of the 66th Legislature.
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