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2019 Wyoming legislative session

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Wyoming State Legislature

Seal of Wyoming.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 8, 2019
Session end:   February 28, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Drew Perkins (R)
House Speaker:  Steve Harshman (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Dan Dockstader (R)
House: Eric Barlow (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Chris Rothfuss (D)
House: Cathy Connolly (D)
Structure
Members:  30 (Senate), 60 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art 3, Wyoming Constitution
Salary:   $150/day + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
House
Redistricting:  Wyoming Legislature has control

Wyoming convened its legislative session on January 8, 2019, and legislators remained in session until February 28, 2019. Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 27-3 majority in the Senate and a 50-9 majority in the House (plus one independent). The party also controlled the governorship, meaning there was a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Wyoming House and Senate.
  • Wyoming was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Wyoming's governor was Republican Mark Gordon.

  • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    Wyoming was one of 22 Republican trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Wyoming was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Wyoming State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    Wyoming State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 3
         Republican Party 27
    Total 30

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Wyoming State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Wyoming State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Wyoming State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 10 10 9 10 10 10 7 7 7 4 4 4 3 3
    Republicans 20 20 21 20 20 20 23 23 23 26 26 26 27 27

    After the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 20-10 majority in the state Senate. The Republican majority gradually expanded until, after the 2018 elections, Republicans had a 27-3 majority. Republicans gained three seats in 2004 and 2010. The only election in which Democrats gained seats was in 1998, when they picked up one seat.


    Wyoming House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 9
         Republican Party 50
         Independent 1
    Total 60

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Wyoming House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Wyoming House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Wyoming House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 19 13 17 17 14 15 14 17 19 9 8 9 8 9
    Republicans 41 47 43 43 46 45 46 43 41 51 52 51 52 50

    After the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 41-19 majority. The Republican majority gradually expanded until, after the 2018 elections, Republicans had a 50-9 majority. The most significant shift in the partisan balance of the state House occurred as a result of the 2010 elections, when Republicans gained 10 seats.


    Leadership in 2019

    Wyoming State Senate

    Wyoming House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria yet in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Wyoming state government

    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 36 standing committees in Wyoming's state government, including 12 joint legislative committees, 12 state Senate committees, and 12 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Wyoming Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article 20 of the Wyoming Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Wyoming

    The Wyoming Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Wyoming requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session for the Wyoming State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 42 votes in the Wyoming House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Wyoming State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 3 of Article 20 of the Wyoming Constitution, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Wyoming State Legislature to place a constitutional convention question on the ballot. If a simple majority of voters approve the question, then the legislature needs to call for a convention during its next session.



    Historical context:

    • Between 1996 and 2018, 28 measures appeared on the ballot in Wyoming.
    • From 1996 to 2018, an average of two measures appeared on the ballot in even-numbered years.
    • Between 1996 and 2018, 18 of 28 measures, or 64 percent, were approved, and 10 of 28 measures, or 36 percent, were defeated.

    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Wyoming.

    Wyoming Party Control: 1992-2024
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Wyoming State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes