The Wyoming House and Senate will have new leaders after a closed-door meeting in Casper on Nov. 23.
GOP members of the state Legislature nominated Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) to be speaker of the House. They nominated Rep. Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland) to be speaker pro tempore and Rep. Scott Heiner (R-Green River) to be majority whip.
All are Wyoming Freedom Caucus members or endorsees. That puts the faction squarely in the driver’s seat for the upcoming legislative session that kicks off on Jan. 14. Senators and representatives can be members of the caucus, though the group holds a majority in the House.
“I see other states that are moving far faster than Wyoming is, as far as school choice, and some states have outlawed abortion, and some states have really provided a lot more parental rights,” said Rep. Neiman in an interview with Wyoming Public Radio. “The battle is at the state level. You know, the national [level] is, as you well know, a very chaotic and fractured system right now.”
Neiman, who previously served as majority floor leader in the House, will have the authority to appoint committee chairs and get a larger say in setting the legislative agenda. He ran unopposed for his position.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is part of a national network of Freedom Caucuses based in Washington, D.C.
Though Neiman said Wyoming’s branch ultimately makes its own decisions about priorities and “what to think or … how to do things,” support from the national network has been helpful.
“These guys have been very, very helpful on that national level to get us information and support us in those kinds of moves and to see those kinds of things come to fruition because they’re what’s important to the people in Wyoming.”
Wyomingites can expect more abortion-related legislation in the next session, Neiman added, especially after a Teton County district judge struck the state’s two abortion bans down last week.
In the state Senate, Republicans selected Sen. Bo Biteman (R-Ranchester) as Senate president. He’s voted with the Freedom Caucus on at least six key bills of significance to the caucus.
Lawmakers tapped Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne) to be the majority floor leader.
Biteman and Nethercott ran for their leadership roles against Sen. Larry Hicks (R-Baggs) and a slate of other further-right lawmakers who announced their candidacies together.
Both chambers still need to vote on the GOP’s nominees, though their confirmation is likely because Democrats only have eight members in the 93-member Legislature.
Democrats also held a closed-door vote on their own leadership picks.
Rep. Mike Yin (D-Jackson) will be the minority floor leader, while Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) will act as the minority floor whip. Both legislators were reelected to those positions. Rep. Trey Sherwood (D-Laramie) will also continue on as caucus chair. Those leadership decisions are made solely by the Democratic caucus.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
