Several High-Profile Bills Already Dead In 2026 Wyoming Legislature

A bill repealing the Wyoming Business Council, another that could eventually have led to making I-80 a toll road, and a proposal for most voters to cast ballots using a pen and paper are among the many bills that are already dead in the 2026 session of the Wyoming Legislature.

The session passed the one week mark on Monday. Friday, February 13 was the last day for bills to be introduced, so any proposal which has not yet been introduced is dead for this session. That includes bills which missed the deadline as well as others that didn't get enough votes for introduction.

Because it is a budget session, non-budget bills need a 2/3 majority for introduction. There have been a high number of bills that got majority votes but fell short of he 2/3 threshold needed for introduction during a budget session.

One such bill was Senate File 73, sponsored by Senator Ogden Driskill, would have laid the groundwork for possibly making Interstate 80 a toll road at some point. It's an idea that has been put forward at least seven times without ever winning final approval. With WYDOT facing a budget deficit of at least $400 million dollars, it wouldn't be a surprise if supporters try one more time next year. Actually implementing tolls on I-80 would require federal approval, which is far from a certainty.

Several Election Bills Fail Introductory Votes

Also getting a strong majority vote, but falling short of the 2/3 threshold was House Bill 48, which would have required making pen and paper ballots the default method for voting in Wyoming. it did receive a 38-24 majority vote in the Wyoming House, but that was two votes shy of the needed two thirds needed. The bill was one of several election integrity bills championed by Secretary of State Chuck Gray, most of which are dead for this session.  Similar measures failing to win introduction would have banned ballot drop boxes and ballot harvesting.

Likewise, House Bill 94, calling for hand counting of ballots, failed.

However, House Bill 52, hand counting of ballots for recounts, was still alive at last report..

One bill that didn't come close to winning approval was Senate File 65, which would have eliminated The Wyoming Business Council. that measure got only 10 votes in the Wyoming Senate, with 21 senators opposing. While outright elimination of the council may have failed, it's future still hangs in the balance in terms of funding. That will depend on the final budget that comes out of the 2026 session.