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Park County lawmakers will lead a pair of legislative committees related to health and agriculture over the coming two years.
On Saturday, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) was named as …
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Park County lawmakers will lead a pair of legislative committees related to health and agriculture over the coming two years.
On Saturday, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) was named as the new chair of the House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee and Sen. Tim French (R-Heart Mountain) as the chair of the Senate’s Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee.
Meanwhile, Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) was named as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee — the first time a local lawmaker has served on the influential budget panel in over a decade.
As she prepares to lead the labor committee, Rodriguez-Williams said she’s looking forward to the role. The panel has “brought forward many important topics” over the years, she said, but the outspoken pro-life advocate made a point of noting that the committee “hears crucial bills dealing with the protection of unborn babies and the support of mothers.”
“I am eager to serve and do my part to advance the conservative, pro-family agenda that the people of Wyoming demand,” Rodriguez-Williams said.
She had previously served on the House Judiciary Committee.
As for French, he’ll start his second term by moving into the chair position on the Senate ag committee. He brings four years of experience on the panel — along with his decades of experience as a Heart Mountain area farmer.
Laursen, meanwhile, will be departing the ag committee for the time-consuming appropriations committee. The panel develops and presents the budget and supplemental budget for their legislative colleagues, which is a time-consuming task.
In fact, Laursen is in Cheyenne this week watching the current members of the committee work through the supplemental budget proposed by Gov. Mark Gordon.
“My wife isn’t so excited [about the assignment], but that’s alright; I signed up,” Laursen said. “It’s good to have our area of the state represented on it.”
He’s the first Park County representative to serve on the panel since 2012.
Personally, Laursen wonders if the Legislature should revisit the role that the appropriations committee plays in the budget process, wondering if budget recommendations should be split up among the other committees by subject area. However, “they’ve been doing it this way for so long, I think change would be very difficult,” Laursen said.
Shifting
assignments
Meanwhile, the 68th Legislature will mark the first time in over two decades that the area won’t have a representative on the education committee. Outgoing Rep. David Northrup (R-Powell) led the House Education Committee over the past two years, but his replacement, freshman Rep. Paul Hoeft (R-Powell) landed on the labor and Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions committee.
Hoeft had sought seats on the education and Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs committees, but also put a note on the bottom of his preference form that said, “Put me where you need me.”
“As the freshman legislator going in, I wasn’t going to be too terribly particular,” Hoeft said.
In the end, he said the chairs of the labor and corporations committees specifically asked for him to serve on their panels — and he said the roles will give him a chance to learn new things.
“I’m excited,” Hoeft said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Fellow freshman Rep. Nina Webber (R-Cody) also received two committee assignments. She’s joining the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee and will serve alongside Hoeft on corporations.
As for state Rep. Dalton Banks (R-Cowley), he’ll continue serving on the ag committee in his second term while moving from minerals to transportation.
Shifting power
When the Legislature convenes in January for its 2025 General Session, there will be plenty of new faces and a new balance of power.
Candidates within or aligned with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus — a more conservative group that’s currently chaired by Rodriguez-Williams — had a strong showing in this year’s elections to take control of the House. The caucus counts incoming House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) among its members and in a Monday statement, the group released a statement praising his appointments. Conversely, the Freedom Caucus panned incoming Senate President Bo Biteman’s (R-Ranchester) picks, charging that most of his committees “are controlled by Liz Cheney Republicans.”
The caucus said Wyoming voters “cleaned the House” in this year’s elections and warned “they will be watching the Senate to see which game players to purge next.”
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers criticized both Neiman and Biteman for removing all Democrats from the education committees. The lawmakers said the move “shows that leadership is more interested in political control than working together to solve real problems.”
The committee assignments are expected to run for the 2025 and 2026 sessions.
Laursen said the House “went big time” in getting the participation of more conservative lawmakers, the Senate “not so much.”
“I think we’re going to come out with good things; I think the whole Legislature will do good,” said Laursen, who aligns with the conservatives. “I think we got a direction from the voters, and so it'll be really interesting.”
The Legislature is set to convene on Jan. 14.
