The WMS Board of Trustees flagged House Bill 42: Regulation of Surgical Abortion as controversial. In an effort to represent the diversity of our membership, and their beliefs, WMS will not be publicly testifying or overtly advocating on this issue unless 25% of active WMS members engage and vote on The WIRE. That 25% minimum threshold must be met and a simple majority vote of those 25% is required to activate public advocacy efforts by WMS on behalf of our members.

BILL STATUS

Scheduled for debate TOMORROW (1/22/25) at the 8 AM Committee meeting

INTERESTED IN TESTIFYING IN PERSON OR REMOTELY?

Contact Sheila Bush at sheila@wyomed.org or 307-630-8602

LINKED HERE is the form to fill out to testify remotely

**PROGRESS TOWARD 25% MEMBER ENGAGEMENT MINIMUM

WMS member, Open Trustee, and practicing OB/Gyn Rebecca Franklund, MD, posted a new proposal for member engagement on THE WIRE. Dr. Franklund is asking for WMS members to read HB 159 and cast their vote to have WMS oppose or support House Bill 159 - Protecting water from chemical abortion waste.

BILL STATUS

Introduced and referred to Committee 10 - Labor, Health and Social Services

**PROGRESS TOWARD 25% MEMBER ENGAGEMENT MINIMUM

WMS member, Past President, and practicing Internist Kris Schamber, MD, has posted a new proposal for member engagement on THE WIRE. Dr. Schamber is asking for WMS members to read HB 115 and HB 222 and cast their vote to have WMS oppose or support the proposals.

BILL STATUS

HB 115: Received for Introduction. Not yet referred to a Committee

HB 222: Received for Introduction. Not yet referred to a Committee

**PROGRESS TOWARD 25% MEMBER ENGAGEMENT MINIMUM

The WMS Board of Trustees voted to significantly increase the role of members across the state in determining the association's advocacy positions and efforts. WMS will preserve precious and finite political capital and resources by reserving public advocacy efforts, including public testimony, to those issues that gain 25% of WMS member engagement on THE WIRE.

Instructions on how to login and use the WIRE are detailed below. Members are also welcome to contact a member of the WMS staff for assistance in utilizing THE WIRE.

To cast your vote on WIRE proposals, CLICK HERE (or the link in the button below) to access THE WIRE. Members can also access THE WIRE from the WMS website at www.wyomed.org

How to use The Wire:

• Log on - https://thewire.wyomed.org/
• The Wire uses the same username and password as you use to login to the WMS website to manage your membership. If you have forgotten your username or password, you can use the forget password feature on The Wire to reset it.
• To view proposals - select "Proposal Feedback" at the top of the screen
• Click on "Pre-Board Feedback"
• Click on the title link to vote/share your opinion on a topic

2025 WMS Bill Tracker

Senate General File (First Reading)

SF 36 - Music therapy-use of title (PASSED First Reading)

• amended to specify board certification
• https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Amends/SF0036SS001.pdf
• video of floor debate linked below

SF 21 - Ban on cell phone use in schools (WMS Advisory Position - NEUTRAL)

• amended to strike prohibit and change to restrict
• amended to delay the enactment date from July 1 to September 1, 2025
• https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Amends/SF0021SS001.pdf

House General File (First Reading)

HB 121 - Hospital pricing transparency (WMS Advisory Position - MONITOR)

HB 96 - Prohibiting mask, vaccine and testing discrimination (WMS Advisory Position - NEUTRAL)

• amended to more clearly specify that the bill is only for COVID-19
• https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Amends/HB0096HS001.pdf
• amended to provide exemption for airports and healthcare facilities
• https://wyoleg.gov/2025/Amends/HB0096HW001.pdf

2025 WMS Bill Tracker

House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee Schedule - 8 AM

CLICK HERE to register to testify remotely

• House Bill 135: Autologous or direct blood donations (continued from Monday)
• House Bill 42: Regulations of surgical abortions
• House Bill 64: Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement

WMS Advocates will not be testifying publicly tomorrow as the above issues, even those elevated to the WIRE, have not met the required minimum membership engagement threshold of 25% participation.

Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee Schedule - 12 PM

CLICK HERE to register to testify remotely

• Senate File 74: Immunity for drug overdose reporting
• Senate File 89: Certificate of need repeal - 2

WMS Advocates may testify on Senate File 74 as the organization has a long history of advocating in support of granting immunity for overdose reporting. The testimony, if given, will be offered in the context of an advisory position established by the Board of Trustees and not a position established by the members through The WIRE.

FLOOR CALENDARS

The floor calendar had not yet been released at the time of sending this email. It is anticipated that bills scheduled for debate on General File and during Committee of the Whole today will be carried forward to tomorrow. The floor calendar can be found using THIS LINK.

House Bill 96: Prohibiting Masks and Vaccines was scheduled for floor debate in the House today but it seems that the body will not get to debating this bill until tomorrow.

The WMS Board elected to remain neutral on this issue this year out of respect for the diversity within our membership on this topic.

We are encouraging members to individually contact their legislators about this issue if you are interested or able.

CALL TO ACTION:

Linked HERE are notes provided by Representative Ken Clouston (R-Gillette) regarding his concerns for the likely unintended consequences that will result upon the passage of this bill as currently written.

Members can email their House Member by finding their information at THIS LINK. If you don't know who your Representative in the State House is, you can use this LINK or contact Sheila Bush at WMS who will be happy to assist you.

We get it. Not everyone wants blow-by-blow accounts of the legislative activity in Cheyenne. If this is you, we understand. Please don't unsubscribe from our mailing, but instead, let us know below by clicking the "thumbs down". We will assume that you are okay with receiving our less frequent and general membership updates but would like to be removed from the daily update list. We will do our best to get you removed so we don't clutter your inbox with information you don't want.

If you want to continue receiving this information, you can skip this section or even give us a "thumbs up" just for fun.

THANKS!

WMS still needs Doc/PA of the Day volunteers!

The Wyoming Medical Society needs volunteers daily for the duration of the legislative session. Doc/PA of the Day volunteers have the opportunity to meet with state legislators, are introduced on the floor of the House and Senate Chambers, and help ensure legislators see that Wyoming physicians and PAs care!

You must be a WMS member to serve as Doc/PA of the Day. Please consider making time to volunteer this year!

To schedule your volunteer date email whitney@wyomed.org.

WMS Board of Trustees enhances the ability to represent a diverse and passionate membership.

The Wyoming Medical Society was established in 1903 to advocate for doctors and their patients. WMS is, and always will be, a staunch advocate for physicians. This is our core. All of our other activities revolve around this core ~WMS Mission Statement

With this in mind, the WMS Board of Trustees (BoT) met on Saturday, January 11, 2025, to establish specific "rules of engagement" for lobbying efforts for legislative sessions. These changes will allow WMS to judiciously expend political capital on unified issues that are of the utmost importance to our membership and most accurately represent the voice of Wyoming Physicians and PAs.

UPDATED: WMS Legislative Review Process

• The BoT will review, analyze, and debate all bills of relevance to WMS members. Advisory opinions reflecting the expertise of WMS leadership will be established in accordance with the WMS Advocacy Tenets. 
• WMS advocates will educate and lobby the advisory opinions of the board in the absence of a WMS WIRE position set by the membership. 
• WMS leadership can vote to require WMS membership engagement on any issue before authorizing public support or opposition of any proposal. The WIRE will be the tool used to gauge WMS member support or opposition.
• A minimum of 25% participation from active members is required before the position is communicated openly in advocacy efforts. The result does not necessarily change the WMS Board Advisory Opinion, as those opinions are based objectively on the established WMS Advocacy Tenets.
• The WIRE platform will be utilized to calculate engagement on these issues. The denominator of the required membership participation percentage is based on active WMS members as defined by WMS Bylaws. 
• Those members with a membership category of associate, affiliate, retired, honorary, or federal employee may participate in all activities on The Wire, but their vote will not count towards or against the required threshold of membership participation.
• Any member can submit a policy position for the membership to vote to have WMS advocates engage and testify. 
• Any member can submit a proposal for review on The Wire.

WMS Member Website

WMS Public Website

WMS Annual Meeting Website

WMS Member Benefit Marketplace

The WIRE