It’s a mild understatement to say that this was a wild first week of the legislative session. Here’s what you should know:
RECALIBRATION
As the legislature convened for the budget session, one of the biggest issues was at the forefront of everyone’s mind: recalibration. During the interim, this process for funding public education had been left wanting, with the final recalibration bill dropping the Friday before session began. This left business managers, school boards, superintendents, and teachers scrambling to determine what the impacts and implications would be. Significant discrepancies arose between what school districts were finding versus what the Legislative Services Office was finding.
This – as well other concerning issues such as increased class sizes, inadequate salaries, the ADM calculation, the ECA calculation, and the mandate that school districts use the state insurance plan – created enough concern to cause 21 members of the House to vote against the bill on introduction. Keep in mind that, during a budget session, bills require a vote of approval from two-thirds of its respective chamber to pass introduction. This effectively killed the bill on the House side.
That may not be the end. There is a mirror bill in the Senate (SF81), but as of this writing there is no indication that they will introduce the bill – and Friday, Feb. 13, is the last day for such an introduction. If the Senate fails to do so or if the bill doesn’t receive enough votes to pass on introduction, recalibration will die entirely during this session.
In that scenario, there are other potential outcomes. One of those would be a special session later this year, likely May or June. The Recalibration Committee has extended their work into the next interim to tackle more of the court-mandated issues. Another option could be for the committee to go through the entire recalibration process one more time. Of course, in the back of everyone’s mind is that the court’s decision on the school finance litigation is expected sometime this year.
THE KILLING FLOOR
During the first few days of the session, several bills died, including a number focused on property tax cuts and elections. Other failed bills included further attacks on public education, such as a new voucher bill and the privatization of the Hathaway scholarship.
Additionally, the Freedom Caucus and similar organizations are responsible for presenting three anti-union/anti-association bills, which target payroll deduction and free speech rights for WEA members, firefighters, and public employees. One bill has been resoundingly defeated, but two others have been received for introduction (HB169 and HB178). By the weekend, we’ll know more about where these stand.
On the flipside, several good education bills are still moving through the process, such as increases to the Hathaway scholarship, the removal of barriers for the Hathaway and the Wyoming Tomorrow scholarship programs, and an interstate teacher mobility compact.
RAISE YOUR VOICE
Often, legislators only hear from us when we’re unhappy with their votes or bills. The work that many of the members of the House and Senate have done so far is decent work. Consider looking at the bills that are either moving through the process (good bills) or have died (bad bills) and see how your legislators voted. If they’ve supported public education, WEA encourages you to reach out and thank them. We need these legislators to keep flexing that pro-public education muscle!
Want more? The Senate Education Committee meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8am, and the House Education Committee meets on those same days upon noon recess. If you are interested in attending or testifying, you can see what bills will be heard in those committees the afternoon before those dates so you can plan ahead. For those who can’t make it to Cheyenne, consider writing Letters to the Editor on the education issues that are important to you.
You can always find information on the WEA Legislative Hub (including the Bill Tracker and Legislators’ Scorecard), and be sure to encourage your friends, family or colleagues who are education advocates to sign up for our legislative updates.
In solidarity!