The Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee voted in favor of Senate File 80 in a three to two vote.  Sen. Troy McKeown, R-Gillette, introduced the bill to take the power of issuing public health orders away from the Governor and the Executive branch and to move it to the Legislative branch and then down onto County Commissioners.  Any public health order would have to be ratified by the Legislature if it exceeds 30 days.

“The important part is that we are really putting the power back into the local government’s hands,” Sen. McKeown said. “There is some language in here; the important part is the communications part of it; between the Legislature and the County Commissioners and city public health officers to work together.”

Sen. Dan Furphy, R-Albany, voiced his concern over the governors and public health officer’s ability to issue a public order in an emergency.  The Governor will still be able to issue an emergency public health order, but it could not extend beyond 30 days without the Legislature being involved.  Policy Director for Gov. Mark Gordon’s office, Renny MacKay, said the Governor’s office supports Senate File 30, favoring the creation of a pandemic review task force.

Executive Director of the County Commissioners Association, Jerimiah Rieman, said that the commissioners prefer the comprehensiveness of SF30.

“What is pretty clear to me is that communication matters in this conversation,” Rieman said. “Those that have good experiences have had daily conversations with their county health officers.”

Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Laramie, said that things like floods are far way from a health officer. “I expect more from people in this position; we’re having this bill because they have too much power,” Bouchard said.

Vice President of the County Commissioners, Bill Novotny, believes that the county health officers are experts in things like infectious diseases.  Novotny did agree that when there are other factors such as floods that are not the same as COVID-19 that are covered in just one section of the law, there can be too much authority, further championing the task force that would be created with SF30.

Sen. Bouchard is not too sure about what the experts say. “I think that I am just like the general public, and I don’t trust experts anymore,” he said. “The people at the top are just saying what the people above them say.  We need thinkers here, and when we don’t have that, we need limitations.”

Sen. McKeown brought up that Wyoming’s Constitution was violated when lawmakers listened to “the experts.”  He also clarified that county commissioners can opt-out and that it was their choice on how involved they were.

In January, Sen. McKeown sponsored a House Joint Resolution, HJ2, that charged the Wyoming Board of Medicine with violating the state’s Constitution because of a statement they published regarding hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.

Other questions arose about the constitutionality of Gov. Gordon’s statewide face mask mandate.  The argument was made under section 38 of Wyoming’s Constitution that states,” the Legislature may determine reasonable and necessary restrictions on the rights granted under this section to protect the health and general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in the Wyoming Constitution.”

There have been bills introduced in both the House and the Senate regarding the Legislatures involvement with public health orders.