October 25, 2021
Central to ESPC’s mission is government transparency. That core tenet of our mission guides our work and is the reason that current and former directors and board members weighed in this week on the need for transparency during the Special Session of the Wyoming Legislature.
Proposed rules for the Special Session included a mirror bill process. In response, ESPC rallied current and past directors, board members, and supporters of civic engagement in a call for greater transparency. Both WyoFile and Cowboy State Daily ran their op-ed.
“The traditional legislative process embraces the time-honored wisdom that the passage of legislation should be difficult and deliberative—and it should be easier for a bill to die than for it to survive. This encourages good faith, a more robust debate, and the creation of higher quality legislation.”
The vote on the proposed rules failed both chambers meaning the mirror bill process failed along with it. The Special Session continues into next week with regular rules.
We strongly encourage your participation and attention. The process can be somewhat challenging to follow, but, thanks to our team and our partners it is still available online and the public can track the bills.
- You can tune into the Special Session here.
- Read the entire whitepaper by ESPC’s former Executive Director Chris Merrill on our website: Why the “Mirror Bill” Process Is Flawed and Fails to Uphold the Vision of the Wyoming Constitution