Committee advances bill to ban 'institutional discrimination' and restrict DEI programs; public testimony sharply divided

The Senate Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee voted to advance House Bill 147, a measure seeking to prohibit what its sponsor described as “institutional discrimination” and to limit government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Representative Rachel Rodriguez Williams, sponsor of HB147, told the committee the bill “takes unnecessary acts to divisive activity by banning discrimination against any Wyomingite on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, biological ***, or national origin.” She said the measure is intended to require a “color‑blind” approach in state government and cited definitions in the bill that would prohibit programs or instruction that classify individuals by race or attribute collective blame or responsibility based on immutable characteristics. “This act restores our state government to the colorblind…