Latest news with #ChrisRothfuss
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill requiring a transvaginal ultrasound before taking an abortion pill clears Senate
CHEYENNE – Senators overwhelmingly supported a House bill Tuesday afternoon that requires women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound no more than 48 hours before taking an abortion pill. House Bill 64, 'Chemical abortion-ultrasound requirement,' will now go back to the House of Representatives for a concurrence vote on the Senate amendments. If House members concur, the bill heads to the governor's desk. If representatives fail to concur, three appointed members from each chamber will meet to debate the bill in a joint conference committee. Wyoming Freedom Caucus member and House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, the bill's primary sponsor, has called HB 64 'compassionate legislation.' The 48-hour waiting period, which is not based on scientific or medical fact, is a time window for women to reflect on the decision before terminating their pregnancy, Neiman said. The House speaker at first denied this as anti-abortion legislation, running on the premise that it's geared toward protecting women. On the House floor, however, Neiman admitted his intent behind the legislation is to discourage pregnant women from seeking an abortion. 'I definitely want to try everything that I possibly can to provide the opportunity for life to exist and have that chance,' Neiman said during the bill's second reading in the House. Constitutional arguments In the Senate, a bipartisan handful of lawmakers spoke against the bill, arguing it violated a Wyoming constitutional provision that allows competent adults to make their own health care decisions. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said this bill 'is the poster child' of what that provision 'obligates (the Legislature) to protect against.' He also pointed to another section of that provision, which requires the state 'to preserve these rights from undue governmental infringement.' Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025) Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie 'Mr. President, that's our job,' Rothfuss said. 'We're the government that is supposed to be there for the people, to preserve these rights from undue governmental infringement. And yet here we are bringing legislation that is unreasonable, irrational and medically unjustified, undue infringement.' Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, who voted against HB 64, said the state government is wrongly inserting itself into the state Constitution. The Lander senator also referred to Article 1, section 7 of the Wyoming Constitution, which prohibits 'absolute, arbitrary power.' Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander (2025) Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander 'This is the Senate, the Wyoming Legislature, exercising absolute power, going against professional boards that we've established, going against licensing procedures, going against a constitutional amendment that guarantees persons the right to make their own health care decisions,' Case said. 'If you don't like what the Constitution says, you have the right to change it.' Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, said the Wyoming Constitution also allows the Legislature to 'determine reasonable and necessary restrictions … to protect the health and general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in the Wyoming Constitution.' Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne (2025) Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne 'I think it's our right and desire to try to do everything we can to either stop it or make it as safe as possible,' Hutchings said. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, who voted against HB 64, said this bill exacerbated Wyoming's health care crisis. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper (2025) Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper 'We're having a shortage of doctors in Wyoming in obstetrics gynecology,' Scott said. 'This is … exacerbating our problem.' Senate amendments Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie, tried to add an amendment that removed the requirement for the transvaginal ultrasound, based on public testimony arguing this is an extremely invasive procedure. He visited with several medical providers who told him a topical ultrasound would be able to tell the viability of a fetus. Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie (2025) Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie 'I think this bill is to check the viability of life and protect the life of an unborn child,' Crum said, 'not to hurt or embarrass someone.' However, several Republican senators argued this ultrasound would fail to detect how far along the woman is in the pregnancy, and his amendment failed in a voice vote. Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne (2025) Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, successfully brought an amendment to the bill that reduces the felony penalty to a misdemeanor. Instead of a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to a $20,000 fine or both, Brennan's amendment reduced it to a maximum of six months imprisonment, up to a $9,000 fine or both. Other Senate amendments adopted in the bill altered some definitions to align with medical terminology or other legislation.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Gordon will see surgical abortion regulation bill again after last year's veto
CHEYENNE – Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a bill last year that would require surgical abortion centers to be licensed as an ambulatory surgical center. An identical bill is headed back to the governor's desk this year after the House of Representatives voted to concur with the Senate on House Bill 42, 'Regulation of surgical abortions.' On Monday, representatives passed HB 42 on a concurrence vote of 55-6, with one member excused. Five of Wyoming's six House Democrats and Cheyenne Republican Rep. Bob Nicholas voted against the bill. Fort Washakie Democrat Rep. Ivan Posey voted in favor of it. Last year's bill, HB 148, 'Regulation of abortions,' was amended in the House to also apply to chemical abortions, and require an ultrasound no more than 48 hours before a pregnant woman takes drugs or substances to induce abortion. Gordon said in his veto message these amendments to the bill 'complicated' its intention, making it 'vulnerable to legal challenges.' There are two separate bills this year addressed to surgical abortion centers and requiring an ultrasound before taking abortion pills. Although both bills crossed over to the Senate and were passed by the Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee at the same time, only one of them has passed all the way through the Legislature at this point. HB 64, 'Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement,' which is in its third and final reading in the Senate, was delayed for discussion a second time on Monday. A 'burdensome' bill Both of the Senate's Democratic lawmakers, and a handful of Republican colleagues, questioned the necessity of the bill during its first reading on the Senate floor last week. Sens. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, and Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, said abortion is the only type of surgical health care that's been targeted by state lawmakers. 'The only surgeries that we mention in the green books are abortion,' Rothfuss said. 'Every other surgery we actually leave up to the medical board.' Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025) Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie Gierau pointed to the state's difficulty in keeping and recruiting health care providers. The Cowboy State faces a growing maternity services crisis, as hospitals shut down OB-GYN services in order to stay afloat. Anti-abortion laws, such as HB 42, are the only legislation that can turn doctors into felons, he said. 'At some point, we need to say we really don't want doctors here, because if we keep doing bills that turn them into felons, that is the result,' Gierau said. 'We should stop messing around with it.' Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson (2025) Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, responded that the discrimination issue is actually reversed in the bill, since physicians who perform surgical abortions are not currently required to be in good standing with the state or have hospital admitting privileges. 'Madam Chairwoman, those are things that we require of all other types of major surgeries and even minor surgeries within the state,' Brennan said to Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, who was presiding over the Senate at the time. Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne (2025) Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne Katherine Knutter, the executive director of Wyoming's sole surgical abortion center, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, previously testified that her physicians don't admit enough patients to the hospital to get hospital admitting privileges. '(That's) because abortion is very, very safe,' Knutter said during a House committee's discussion of the bill. Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, echoed his Democratic colleagues' concerns. Landen said he failed to see the justification behind legislation penalizing doctors, especially as the Cowboy State faces a shortage in health care providers. Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper (2025) Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper 'I don't think that we're giving enough thought to what we're doing to our medical community out there,' Landen said. 'What we're doing here is making them think twice or three times before they come back, and they sure as heck aren't going to be in women's health, I'll tell you.' Potential shutdown Knutter previously told both House and Senate committee members the passage of this bill could mean shutting down Wellspring Health Access. The bill would require the clinic to undergo extensive construction in order to comply as an outpatient surgical center, in addition to the "major barrier" of getting hospital admitting privileges for her physicians. 'We feel that this is specifically targeted to put us out of business,' Knutter previously told House committee members. Senators in favor of the bill during its first reading on the floor said it was about protecting the health and safety of pregnant women. Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, denied that the bill was meant to restrict abortion access for women. "If we're going to have legal abortions, we're going to try to make them as safe as possible," Hutchings said. "The bill is pretty clear cut. Nobody is trying to prevent anybody's reproductive rights from being denied." Rothfuss, however, didn't buy that argument. "It would be refreshing to just hear, perhaps, an admittance that this has nothing to do with women's health. ... The bill is not about that," Rothfuss said. "The intent is to make it harder to have abortions."
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homeschool Freedom Act steams ahead in Wyoming Senate
CHEYENNE — Wyoming is close to becoming the 12th state in the country to not require parents to submit homeschool curriculum to their local school district. Senate Education Committee members unanimously passed House Bill 46, 'Homeschool freedom act,' Wednesday morning, with one member excused. The bill passed its first reading on the Senate floor Thursday, and has two more rounds of votes before it returns to the House of Representatives for concurrence. If the House concurs with the Senate, HB 46 will head straight to the governor's desk for his signature or veto. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, asked during the Senate Education Committee meeting whether the bill removes the requirement for parents to at least notify school districts their child will be homeschooled. Wyoming Department of Education Chief of Staff Dicky Shanor said HB 46 only amends subsection b of Wyoming statute 21-4-102. The next paragraph, subsection c, would still require parents or guardians who have not 'notified the district of enrolling that child in a different school district or in a private school or home-based educational program, shall … provide the school district with written consent to the withdrawal of that child from school attendance.' All public testimony was in favor of the bill, from homeschool parents to school district representatives. Several Laramie County homeschool parents said sending in curriculum to their local school district is a 'confusing' process. Homeschool Wyoming President Brenna Lowry, who is also a homeschool mom in Laramie County, said 'the time is right to repeal this regulation that has no reason in the statute and that makes no sense.' Lowry added that her organization has seen a doubling in the number of homeschool families, especially since the pandemic. 'During that time, we've had families reach out with confusion over what is actually required by the school districts,' Lowry said, later testifying there are between 5,000 and 6,000 families who homeschool their children in Wyoming. Homeschool Legal Defense Association Senior Counsel Will Estrada said he supports the Homeschool Freedom Act, saying it's 'good for public schools' and 'will ease a paperwork burden that does really nothing' for children's education. It also alleviates stress for homeschool parents in Wyoming, he said, who sometimes hire lawyers to fight against school districts that insist on using a different form of curriculum. He added that parents and guardians will still be responsible for notifying the school district of their intent to withdraw the child. 'But for families whose child never went to public school, they would not need to do this,' Estrada said. Wyoming Association of School Administrators Executive Director Boyd Brown said public school superintendents also stood in support of the bill. 'We do nothing with evaluating (homeschool curriculum),' Brown said. Wyoming Department of Family Services Director Korin Schmidt said the notification that a child is withdrawn from the school is helpful, but it doesn't clarify whether the child is being homeschooled. The submitted homeschool curriculum typically helps with that investigation, she said. 'It's a tool that will no longer be there,' Schmidt said. 'But we will continue to work around it and do our investigations regardless.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
University of Wyoming Lab School bill approved in House committee, headed for floor
CHEYENNE — In another narrow vote, a bill to keep the University of Wyoming Lab School open passed through the House Education Committee. Co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, Senate File 126, 'Establishment of a K-8 public lab school,' passed through committee in a 5-4 vote Wednesday. SF 126 comes after a set of 'unfortunate circumstances' between UW and Albany County School District 1, wherein the two educational entities could not agree on a memorandum of understanding governing school operations, according to Rothfuss. That disagreement led to a 'unilateral decision' by the UW trustees, and a subsequent later announcement by the ACSD1 school board, to close the UW Lab School at the end of this academic year, Rothfuss explained to his fellow lawmakers this session. He also acknowledged before the House committee Wednesday that neither the university nor ACSD1 is in support of SF 126. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025) Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie 'The university wants to close the lab school, and they have made that clear,' he said. 'The district doesn't want to continue to work with the lab school. … They see it as a funding threat.' But teachers, students and staff at the lab school feel very differently — and feel unheard, after the UW trustees first made the decision to close it at a meeting in Sheridan, not Laramie, Rothfuss said. Representatives from both UW and ACSD1 testified against SF 126 Wednesday. Mike Smith, UW vice president for governmental affairs and community engagement, said that the decision to close the lab school was 'the epitome of a local control issue,' and that the lab school was 'a great school but serves no educational purpose' that the UW College of Education cannot fulfill without it. ACSD1 Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt said that keeping the lab school open represents a financial threat to the district, continuing that the effort behind SF 126 was 'nontransparent' as ACSD1 trustees were not informed or involved. In comments limited due to time constraints while committees work to push legislation through in the final weeks of the session, former students at the lab school, parents and teachers pleaded with the committee Wednesday to pass SF 126. Julia Crossland, who identified herself as a young Wyoming teacher, said her life was deeply impacted by the UW Lab School. She graduated in 2023 with a degree in secondary social studies education, after student teaching in Platte County. 'I was lucky enough to be able to participate in a specially designed practicum experience (including time at the lab school),' Crossland said. 'Lab has allowed us to work hands-on with students, and try out different teaching methods.' UW Lab School art 1 Tori Brantner and Emily Mai work on their 4x4 projects in art class on Dec. 6, 2023, at the University of Wyoming Lab School. Bradley Rettler, who said his own two children attend the lab school, said it is an important tool for keeping students training to teach in Wyoming. Rettler, who is an associate professor of philosophy at UW, said when he asks freshmen majoring in education why they chose Laramie, one of their top reasons is the lab school. 'We want our teachers to have grown up in the state, to have gone to college in the state, and to stay in the state,' Rettler said. 'The lab school is one of the things that keeps them in the state.' Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas, said that supporting the UW Lab School is much like supporting rural schools in Wyoming, where parents express a deep need for a facility of choice. Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas (2025) Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas 'We fight for (rural schools). School districts usually want to close them, and parents get out there and fight,' Strock said. 'This is no different.' Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, said that he was 'on the fence' about SF 126, but that the groundswell of support pushed him toward forwarding the bill out of committee. Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan (2025) Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan 'This is too large of an issue, with too much public input, and too many people paying attention, for this committee to shut it down at this moment,' Kelly said. 'This deserves its time in the House.' However, Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland; Rep. McKay Erickson, R-Afton; and Rep. Laurie Bratten, R-Sheridan, all said they could not support the bill. Erickson said he worried a state decision would impinge on local control, and Bratten said she had concerns over how the bill structured administration at the lab school. 'There is a lot of verbiage here that is pretty gray,' Bratten said. 'Fundamentally, I would like to see this as a charter. … It is such a strange hybrid.' Lawley pointed out that the lab school has not been performing for the last several years, and said that SF 126 would force UW and ACSD1 to operate a facility they no longer see as effective. 'Part of my concerns, it begins with the idea that the school hasn't been functioning for five years, basically, and so it is not like we are going to (pass SF 126) and all that is going to come back together,' Lawley said. Rothfuss responded that the school may have struggled for the last few years, but it has a 138-year history. 'Do we get involved? In my view, that is a legislative decision. We are electeds, and this is a decision that should be made by electeds,' Rothfuss said. 'Believe me, (the College of Education) thrived with the lab school for many years.' Kelly, Strock and Rep. Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton; Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne; and Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, voted for SF 126. Bratten, Erickson, Lawley and Rep. JD Williams, R-Lusk, voted against the bill.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Universal school voucher bill passes Wyoming Senate committee, heads to the floor
CHEYENNE — The constitutionality of a universal school voucher bill was discussed by Wyoming lawmakers in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday morning before they advanced it in a 3-2 vote. Committee Chairwoman Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, and Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, both voted against the bill, questioning how it would hold up in court. Schuler said she supports school choice, but her 'biggest hangup is universal school choice.' She said she preferred to see how the Education Savings Account (ESA) bill passed last year would impact state funding and hold up against potential litigation before making any changes to the program. 'I probably will vote against this bill, at least now in this present form. … There's a couple more things we need to do with it, and maybe I can get on board,' Schuler said. House Bill 199, 'Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act,' passed through the lower chamber and over to the Senate amid a wave of constitutional concerns from both inside and outside the Legislature. Several representatives, both Democratic and Republican, argued this bill violates the state's constitution by using state funds to help parents send their children to private schools. The Education Savings Account program was created through a bill passed by lawmakers in the 2024 budget session, which would have made $6,000 a year available for all parents to send their child to a private school. Gov. Mark Gordon partially vetoed the bill, limiting it to those at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and questioning the constitutionality of anything other than assistance to low-income residents. However, in HB 199, Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, proposes several significant changes to the current program, which began accepting applications earlier this year. Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie (2025) Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie As currently written, HB 199 removes the family income requirement, raises the per child amount from $6,000 to $7,000 and removes pre-kindergarten schools from program eligibility. The bill also changes the funding source from the state's general fund to federal mineral royalties (FMRs), which is one of several direct revenue sources for the School Foundation Program that funds K-12 public schools. Rothfuss said last year's bill 'had some provisions that moved it toward constitutionality' that are removed in this bill. Such provisions include assistance to the poor and early childhood education. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025) Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie 'This legislation eliminates the pre-K and then eliminates any of the constitutional provisions that would have been protective, in my view, of making it unconstitutional,' Rothfuss said. He read out loud Article 7, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution, which states no 'portion of any public school fund ever be used to support or assist any private school, or any school, academy, seminary, college or other institution of learning controlled by any church or sectarian organization or religious denomination whatsoever.' 'The plain reading of that is pretty clear,' Rothfuss said. 'The public funds are for public education. When we break down that system and erode that system, we create challenges, both constitutional challenges, as well as for the functioning of the public education system.' The Senate Education Committee passed the bill on a vote of 3-2, but not without adding a few amendments. Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, asked Andrew about the funding source issue, since federal mineral royalties are already used to fund public schools. Olsen suggested using the state's general fund, Wyoming's main spending account, instead. 'If you remove the funding source the furthest you possibly could from the School Foundation account, and use general fund dollars, you would have the strongest argument against the constitutionality claim,' said Olsen, who was recently involved in the creation of a local charter school, Cheyenne Classical Academy. In response, Andrew pointed to a provision in the bill where ESA money will tip back into the School Foundation Program after the ESA fund reaches a certain threshold. Once the account has more than $130 million and more than 150% of what is needed to meet the following year's demand, the excess funds would go back into the School Foundation Program account. Andrew added that the use of FMRs was recommended to him by lawyers who helped draft the bill 'in the most constitutional way.' The Laramie representative said the FMRs were suggested to be the 'simplest, clean source of money' for the bill. 'These same people have been involved with state Supreme Court cases and national Supreme Court cases on this legislation the whole way, so I trusted what they said,' Andrew said. However, Wyoming Education Association spokesperson Tate Mullen said the bill remained unconstitutional, no matter where the funding came from. The state is constitutionally obligated to fully fund its public schools, and this obligation has yet to be fulfilled, Mullen said. Earlier this session, legislative appropriators voted to reduce the recommended external cost adjustment to K-12 public schools by $17.5 million. The original $66.3 million, passed by former appropriators in the 67th Legislature and Gov. Gordon, was the recommended amount to get the state back on track to fully funding its public schools. 'You have the ability to fully fund a cost-based model of education, whether using whatever account you want to use, but we haven't done it,' Mullen said. 'We're failing to meet our original obligation, yet we're funding this.' Olsen said he considered bringing an amendment to change the source of revenue to the state's general fund, but laid it back for the time being. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said he wasn't sure if this provision would make the bill constitutionally defensible. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper (2025) Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper 'I don't think you're going to be able to tell until you actually get a court case,' Scott said. Testing, certification The original HB 199 removed the certification process for a private school that receives ESA funds. However, Rep. J.D. Williams, R-Lusk, managed to reinsert this language through an amendment during the bill's second reading in the House. Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, successfully added an amendment to 'tighten up' the certification requirement. Her amendment expanded this language, specifying this process 'shall ensure ESA students attending qualified schools receive instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, civics, history, literature and science throughout their kindergarten through grade 12 tenure.' Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne (2025) Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne Wyoming senators also reinserted language for a nationally normed or statewide assessment requirement. HB 199 originally removed the testing requirement, and several attempts were made in the House to put it back in. Williams managed to successfully add an amendment during the bill's third and final reading in the House that requires ESA students to be 'assessed on their academic progress.' Olsen proposed putting the original ESA language back in, but modifying it to give recipients the option to take either a nationally normed or statewide exam, to give the bill more 'accountability.' Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne (2025) Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne 'I strongly believe that we need to put strong accountability back into the bill,' Olsen said. Other amendments were added to the bill, including one that changed the name from the 'Wyoming Freedom Scholarship Act' to the 'Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act.' Olsen said this new name is 'a little more Wyoming.' 'We wanted to find a way to put the buck and rider on this bill, and so 'Steamboat' jumped out,' Olsen said. The bill will now go to the Senate floor for three more readings, before it's sent back to the House for consideration of Senate changes.
