2022 Wyoming legislative session

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2022 Wyoming legislative session
General information
Session start:  February 14, 2022

Session end:  March 11, 2022

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
2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2022 legislative sessions

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In 2022, the Wyoming State Legislature was scheduled to convene on February 14, 2022 and adjourn on March 11, 2022.

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 in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2022 session, Wyoming was one of 16 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2022 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.

## Contents

* 1 Leadership in 2022
* 1.1 Wyoming State Senate
* 1.2 Wyoming House of Representatives
* 2 Partisan control in 2022
* 2.1 Wyoming State Senate
* 2.2 Wyoming House of Representatives
* 3 Regular session
* 4 Standing legislative committees
* 4.1 Joint legislative committees
* 4.2 Senate committees
* 4.3 House committees
* 5 Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
* 5.1 Legislature
* 5.2 Convention
* 6 Historical partisan control
* 6.1 Historical Senate control
* 6.2 Historical House control
* 7 See also
* 8 External links
* 9 Footnotes

## Leadership in 2022[edit]

### Wyoming State Senate[edit]

* Senate president: Dan Dockstader (R)
* Majority leader: Ogden Driskill (R)
* Minority leader: Chris Rothfuss (D)

### Wyoming House of Representatives[edit]

* Speaker of the House: Eric Barlow (R)
* Majority leader: Albert Sommers (R)
* Minority leader: Cathy Connolly (D)

## Partisan control in 2022[edit]

See also: State government trifectas

Wyoming was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2022 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 16 state legislatures where Republicans 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 2022 legislative session.

### Wyoming State Senate[edit]

Party  | As of January 2022

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| Democratic Party | 2
| Republican Party | 28
Total |  30

### Wyoming House of Representatives[edit]

Party  | As of January 2022

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| Democratic Party | 7
| Republican Party | 51
| Independent  | 1
| Libertarian Party | 1
Total |  60

## Regular session[edit]

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2022 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 2022. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

## Standing legislative committees[edit]

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 2022 legislative session, there were 26 standing committees in Wyoming's state government, including two  joint legislative committees, 12 state Senate committees, and 12 state House committees.

### Joint legislative committees[edit]

* Management Audit Committee
* Management Council Committee

### Senate committees[edit]

* Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee
* Senate Appropriations Committee
* Senate Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee
* Senate Education Committee
* Senate Journal Committee
* Senate Judiciary Committee
* Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee
* Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee
* Senate Revenue Committee
* Senate Rules and Procedure Committee
* Senate Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee
* Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee

### House committees[edit]

* House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee
* House Appropriations Committee
* House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee
* House Education Committee
* House Journal Committee
* House Judiciary Committee
* House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee
* House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee
* House Revenue Committee
* House Rules and Procedure Committee
* House Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee
* House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee

## Legislatively referred constitutional amendments[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Wyoming.

Wyoming Party Control: 1992-2026
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-four 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  | 25  | 26

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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 | 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 | 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 | R | R

### Historical Senate control[edit]

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

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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[edit]

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

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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[edit]

Elections | Wyoming State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics

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* Wyoming State Senate elections, 2022
* Wyoming House of Representatives elections, 2022

* Wyoming State Legislature
* Wyoming House of Representatives
* Wyoming State Senate
* Governor of Wyoming
* Wyoming Supreme Court

* State legislative elections, 2022
* State legislative special elections, 2022
* State legislative elections, 2020
* State legislative elections, 2018

* State government trifectas
* State government triplexes
* Veto overrides in state legislatures
* State executives
* State courts
* Ballot measures
* The State Legislative Decade

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* Wyoming State Legislature homepage

## Footnotes[edit]

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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