2021 Wyoming legislative session

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2021 Wyoming legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 12, 2021

Session end:    April 7, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Dan Dockstader (R)

House Speaker
Eric Barlow (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Ogden Driskill (R)
House: Albert Sommers (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Chris Rothfuss (D)
House: Cathy Connolly (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the Wyoming State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12 and adjourn on April 7.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 28-2 majority in the Senate and a 51-7 majority (with one independent and one Libertarian) in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Wyoming was one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Wyoming State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Wyoming was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Wyoming state House and state Senate.
  • Wyoming was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Wyoming's governor was Republican Mark Gordon.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Wyoming State Senate

    Wyoming House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Wyoming was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 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 2021 legislative session.

    Wyoming State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 2
         Republican Party 28
    Total 30

    Wyoming House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 7
         Republican Party 51
         Independent 1
         Libertarian Party 1
    Total 60

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Wyoming after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    Wyoming's one United States representative and 93 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Wyoming was the only state during the 2020 redistricting cycle that changed its number of state legislators. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Wyoming after the 2020 census, click here.

    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 2021 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 2000 and 2020, 20 measures appeared on the ballot in Wyoming.
    • From 2000 and 2020, an average of two measures appeared on the ballot in even-numbered years.
    • Between 2000 and 2020, 12 of 20 measures (60%) were approved, and 8 of 20 measures (40%) were defeated.
    Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 2000-2020
    Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Even-year average Even-year median Even-year minimum Even-year maximum
    20 12 60% 8 40% 2 2 0 4


    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

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 10 10 9 10 10 10 7 7 7 4 4 4 3 3 2
    Republicans 20 20 21 20 20 20 23 23 23 26 26 26 27 27 28

    After the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 20-10 majority in the state Senate. The Republican majority gradually expanded until, after the 2020 elections, Republicans had a 28-2 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.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 19 13 17 17 14 15 14 17 19 9 8 9 8 9 7
    Republicans 41 47 43 43 46 45 46 43 41 51 52 51 52 50 51

    After the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 41-19 majority. The Republican majority gradually expanded until, after the 2020 elections, Republicans had a 51-7 majority, with two independents. 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.

    See also

    Elections Wyoming State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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