House passes measure tightening bond-election turnout rule after amendment fails

The Wyoming House of Representatives passed House Bill 79 on third reading Friday, approving a change to bond-election procedures after rejecting a member amendment and a later withdrawn change. The bill, sponsored by Representative Stibar, revises voter-threshold requirements for bond elections.

Representative John Harshman proposed a third-reading amendment to remove a clause that would delay a successful special-issue bond from returning to voters for a year in some circumstances. “I just think we gotta be really careful with the democratic process and how we do this,” Harshman said during debate, arguing the amendment would prevent a community from promptly returning a narrowly decided measure to the ballot.

Representative Steinberg spoke against the amendment, saying it protected constituents in counties with historically low turnout: “There’s actually only two counties that have under 25% in a bond election,” Steinberg said, noting one recent district had turnout under 5% for a fire district bond.

Members voted on Harshman’s amendment; the amendment did not carry and was not adopted. Representative Harshman later withdrew a separate proposed amendment. After the debate and roll call, the House voted to pass House Bill 79. The chief clerk’s tally closed at 57 ayes and 4 noes with one member excused; the clerk announced the bill had passed the House.

House Bill 79 will move to the next step in the legislative process consistent with chamber rules.