At the end of October and the beginning of November, I covered the special legislative session from the Capitol in Cheyenne.
The session was aimed at fighting back against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for companies over 100 employees. Needless to say, many Wyomingites (and their representatives in the Legislature) were clearly outraged. But others were outraged that lawmakers had even gathered in Cheyenne for the matter.
This was my second time at the Capitol and my first time covering a legislative session.
I spent my days up in the gallery of the Senate or the House of Representatives looking down onto the floor and trying to listen to the small side conversations that lawmakers were having (presumably that’s where the interesting stuff is said). I was unsuccessful in that regard, but I did learn some interesting things that I wouldn’t have known if I had just watched over Zoom.
I heard about the thinking behind some of the censure threats against Rep. Steve Harshman, who was caught on a hot mic cursing Rep. Chuck Gray, a fellow Casper Republican. I got some insight into individual interests in bills and amendments that were being pushed. I talked to a very busy House clerk about the nitty-gritty of procedural workings. During conversations with members of the Legislative Service Office, they noted how blown away they were by the hundreds of people tuning in online every day. And I ran into Harriet Hageman, Rep. Liz Cheney’s top challenger in next year’s GOP House primary, in a coffee shop in downtown Cheyenne.
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I also got to meet more Wyoming residents, (tons of) lobbyists, politicians at all levels of government and other journalists.
The session ultimately resulted in one bill being passed and signed into law by Gov. Mark Gordon. It appropriates $4 million towards fighting federal vaccine mandates in court.
Even though we left the Capitol with only one successful bill, being on the ground for it all felt absolutely necessary to understanding how government functions.
If you are a political junkie, or if you have any interest in what goes on down at the Legislature, I would recommend making your way to Cheyenne to observe in person (you can really get the most out of your tax dollars that are paying for all of this).
If there’s anything I missed in my coverage of the special session that you were curious about, please let me know! My goal is to translate all of the high-brow politicking into what actually matters for residents.
Honorable mentions: The tacos I got from Tortilleria La Paz, the Starbucks on Central Avenue that’s open late and the thrift stores on Lincolnway.
Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis
