David Northrup

Having previously served eight years in the Wyoming House, Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, is far from a newbie. But since leaving the Legislature in 2021, the House has seen substantial turnover — he’s among 29 new representatives this year — and Northrup said the chamber has become more conservative.

As for his goals in the 2023 General Session, “I’m just going to be down there to be a calm, cool, collected voice,” he said, “and not be part of the problem.”

Northrup now represents House District 25 (instead of 50), but in some ways he’s picking up right where he left off, being reappointed as the chairman of the House Education Committee.

In addition to continued debates over the proper amount of funding for the state’s K-12 education system, expanding school choice is a priority of the conservative lawmakers in the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Northrup expects to see a bill seeking to have state education funding follow the student — whether they’re attending public schools, a charter school, a private school or are homeschooled. However, he does not believe Wyoming should move in that direction.

“I like the way it’s [currently] working,” Northrup said. “There’s no doubt that it’s not a perfect model, obviously. But there’s other ways to make it so that the model works better for everybody.”

He pushed back on criticism of the performance of the state’s public education system, saying Wyoming’s scores on nationwide assessments like the SAT or NAEP compare favorably to other states.

“Wyoming has great schools,” he said. “Obviously we do very well.”

Additionally, Northrup said it’s not as simple as having money follow a student.

“In the model, there’s money that goes towards the building itself ... And that includes the administration, includes maintenance … the technology side of that, then you’ve got all the teachers that are involved in it,” Northrup said. “All that’s basically tied to that building, not necessarily tied to the students.”

On top of that, Northrup noted that the Wyoming Constitution prohibits public school funds from being used to support any private or religious schools.

“We just need to sit down and really try to educate the Legislature on how the model works, instead of just saying, ‘No, you can’t do that,’” he said.

Crosswalk safety

As for legislation he supports, Northrup is co-sponsoring a bill that would crack down on drivers who fail to stop for students walking to school. HB 68 would allow the installation of video cameras on traffic control devices — such as traffic lights — that are located near crosswalks within school zones. Footage from those cameras could then be used to prosecute the driver or, if the driver can’t be identified, the registered owner of the vehicle. Northrup said some schools — especially in Cheyenne and other busier areas — have had trouble with cars driving through occupied crosswalks. The proposal is similar to the surveillance systems now in place to catch and prosecute drivers who pass stopped school buses.

“It’s just a matter of people not slowing down and paying attention to crosswalks,” Northrup said. “Safety of kids should be paramount on everybody’s minds, especially when you’re going to school.”

Tax exemptions

He’s also been thinking about sponsoring a couple bills that would exempt items from Wyoming’s sales taxes — including agricultural equipment.

Northrup said when ag equipment breaks down, some producers buy replacement parts in other states to avoid Wyoming sales taxes. In the case of the Big Horn Basin, buyers often head to sales tax-free Billings. It amounts to a 4% - 5% discount, which is significant when purchasing $5,000 or $6,000 worth of parts.

As Northrup sees it, the problem isn’t as much the lost tax revenue, as the lost revenue for Wyoming businesses. If there was no incentive to shop out-of-state, “that would be money spent in the state of Wyoming,” he said. “And that money then would be generating income for families in Wyoming, for businesses in Wyoming.”

Northrup understands that under current law, Wyomingites are supposed to declare the purchases they make out of state and pay the requisite taxes. However, many — if not most — people don’t do that.

“That’s my quagmire,” Northrup added, “is if you make it for agriculture that anything bought out of state is tax free, then how about the guy who went and just bought a new washer and dryer? How’s he feel about that?”

It’s one reason why he feels the idea needs more research and input before being put forward as potential legislation.

“I want to be more pragmatic about it than just throw a bill out there and get a group of people mad at agriculture again,” Northrup said. The General Session begins today (Tuesday).