Wyoming
With final bills signed and vetoed, the Legislature switches focus to the ‘off season’
One of the final bills signed by Gov. Mark Gordon following the end of the 68th Wyoming Legislature’s general session voids all future non-compete agreements in the state. SF 107’s passage marks the beginning of the legislative off-season known as the interim.
Non-compete agreements prohibited
Non-compete clauses prevent employees from working for their employer’s competitors or from starting a competing business within a certain amount of time after leaving. They can include geographic stipulations as well, barring employees from working for a competitor if that business is located within a certain number of miles from their previous job.
Wyoming’s new law will make those kinds of clauses null and void, joining states like California, Minnesota and North Dakota.
The bill’s sponsor, Majority Floor Leader Sen. Tara Nethercott (R-Cheyenne), said she believes the elimination of non-competes will benefit free market growth in Wyoming, especially for those in the state’s healthcare industry.
“What we’ve seen in Wyoming is an increasing trend of employers to use non-competes in all forms of businesses and affecting all types of employees,” said Nethercott. “So there’s been increasing litigation making its way to the Wyoming Supreme Court in recent years at unprecedented levels.”
For healthcare workers, Nethercott says non-competes were stifling the development of an industry that’s desperately needed in the state. In particular, Wyoming suffers from a shortage of OB-GYNs and maternal health providers.
“I think it encourages physicians to stay in the communities of their choice,” Nethercott said in an interview. “What these non-competes do is oftentimes force physicians out. As it relates to physicians, it has a huge impact. So physicians are unable to continue to practice within their own communities, really impacting continuity of care for patients.”
The law goes into effect on July 1 and only voids non-compete clauses made after that date. It does not void clauses made before July 1.
Enter the interim
In between legislative sessions, Wyoming’s citizen Legislature disperses across the state to their home communities, rendering the Capitol building’s House and Senate chambers quiet once again.
In her own downtime, Nethercott works as an attorney specializing in employment law at the Cheyenne law firm Crowley Fleck.
During the interim, lawmakers like her are assigned to joint committees that study topics, hear constituent feedback across the state and sometimes come up with draft legislation.
Those kinds of bills are generally expected to do better than measures sponsored by individuals, because they’re more thoroughly vetted and have used taxpayer funding in the research process. But that wasn’t the case this year.
After the general session ended, the Legislative Service Office (LSO) reported that only 47% of all bills sponsored by interim committees passed both chambers. That’s compared to 61% in the last general session in 2023.
“Do the committee assignments in the interim need to be re-evaluated? I think that’s true,” said Nethercott.
Some lawmakers expressed dismay at the number of committee bills that died in the session and wondered about the point of the interim going forward.
Nethercott said she believes that while interim committee work shouldn’t stop, more education on the process is needed for rookie lawmakers, including the 23 representatives who were brand new to the House this year.
“There’s just a lack of knowledge about how the Legislature functions, or how committees function,” she said. “Some of that naivety, I think, has resulted in the committee bills failing.”
Committee chairs need to be the ones to educate their respective bodies on procedure, according to Nethercott.
But Wyoming Freedom Caucus member Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) says he’s looking at the interim season much differently. Bear chairs the House Appropriations Committee and was present during numerous House leadership press conferences held in the speaker’s office during the session.
“I think you’ll see a different type of interim process,” said Bear in an interview with Wyoming Public Radio. “You’ll see bills that are being studied and subjects that are being studied that are near and dear to the hearts of the people of Wyoming. They’re not just things that basically the bureaucracy has asked for.”
He drew a comparison to the 67th Wyoming Legislature, which did not feature a Freedom Caucus majority.
“The 67th and prior, and probably for decades prior, there was much more focus on supporting the government,” Bear said. “Whereas this Legislature, it’s much more about supporting the people that have sent us to the Legislature to represent them.”
Beyond the caucus’ majority in the House, Bear said he believes the Senate “isn’t nearly as conservative as the House.” He penned an op-ed during the session that accused his fellow legislators of being lobbyists.
WPR asked Nethercott about Bear’s comments on the interim.
“It would be really refreshing if the media could stop going to him for every quote on every topic, where he criticizes everything,” she said. “The perpetual criticism by some members of the Legislature concerning previous and current legislators … is unproductive. I think when we really step back and look, good work is being accomplished and will continue to be accomplished, and the Senate will make sure that that occurs. That work will continue, regardless of some of the commentary that is constantly provided by those that always give a quote.”
Interim committee topics will be formalized and released on April 8.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two men were detained in Wyoming in connection with a fatal shooting at a downtown Salt Lake hotel that killed one man.
Carlos Chee, 23, and Chino Aguilar, 21, were both wanted for first-degree felony murder after the victim, identified as Christian Lee, 32, was found dead in a room at the Springhill Suites near 600 South and 300 West.
According to warrants issued for their arrest, Chee and Aguilar met with Lee and another woman at the hotel to sell marijuana. During the alleged drug deal, Aguilar allegedly shot and killed Lee after he tried to grab at his gun.
MORE | Shootings
Investigators said they found Lee dead in the room upon arrival, as well as a single shell casing on the floor and a small amount of marijuana on the television stand.
The woman told investigators she had met Chee on a dating app and that he agreed to come to the hotel to sell her marijuana. She had been hanging out with him in the room, which Lee rented for her to use, when Lee asked them to leave. Lee was then shot and killed following a brief confrontation.
Chee and Aguilar allegedly fled the scene in a 2013 Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate that was later found outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming just a few hours later.
The two men were taken into custody and detained at the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
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ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.
Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.
Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.
MORE | Officer-Involved Shooting
During the encounter, a deputy discharged their weapon and struck the individual.
Emergency medical personnel rendered aid, and the individual was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation.
The deputy who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.
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by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile
Albert Sommers, former Wyoming Speaker of the House, announced Thursday he will attempt to reclaim a seat he formerly held for more than a decade in the statehouse.
“Leadership matters,” Sommers, a lifelong cattle rancher, wrote in a press release. “Right now, the Wyoming House is too often focused on division instead of solutions. We need steady, effective leadership that solves problems—not rhetoric and political theater.”
Voters in 2013 first elected Sommers to House District 20, which encompasses Sublette County and an eastern section of Lincoln County. As a lawmaker, Sommers largely focused on health care, education and water issues. Over six terms, he rose through the ranks, serving in leadership positions and chairing committees focused on education funding and broadband.
In his announcement, Sommers highlighted his legislative work to establish funding for rural hospitals, prioritize “responsible property tax relief,” as well as the creation of the Wyoming Colorado River Advisory Committee within the State Engineer’s Office, “to ensure our water users have a voice in critical decisions affecting the Green River Valley,” he wrote.
As speaker, Sommers was a frequent target of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as well as the DC-based State Freedom Caucus Network, even getting the attention of Fox News and other national, conservative news outlets. They often accused Sommers of not being conservative enough, and criticized him for keeping bills in “the drawer,” which has long been code for the unilateral power a speaker has to kill legislation by holding it back. (The practice of holding bills has been used to a much higher degree under Freedom Caucus leadership.)
In 2023, Sommers used the speaker’s powers to kill bills related to a school voucher program, banning instruction on gender and sexual orientation from some classrooms and criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors. At the time, Sommers defended his decision to hold back “bills that are unconstitutional, not well vetted, duplicate bills or debates, and bills that negate local control, restrict the rights of people or risk costly litigation financed by the people of Wyoming.”
He reiterated that philosophy and defended his record in his Thursday campaign announcement.
“I am a common-sense conservative who believes in getting things done. I support our core industries—oil and gas, ranching, and tourism—and I will continue to fight for the people and natural resources of Sublette County and LaBarge. I am pro-gun, pro-life, pro-family, and pro-education,” Sommers wrote. “I also take seriously my oath to uphold the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, which means I didn’t support bills that violated those constitutions. I read bills carefully and I voted accordingly.”
Following his term as speaker, Sommers stepped away from the House to run for Senate District 14 in 2024. He lost in the primary election to political newcomer Laura Pearson, a Freedom Caucus-endorsed Republican from Kemmerer, who also won in the general election. Her Senate win coincided with the Freedom Caucus winning control of the House.
“That race didn’t go my way, and I respected the outcome,” Sommers said in a Thursday press release. But “the direction of the Wyoming House,” since then, he said, has “raised serious concerns.”
Sommers pointed to the Freedom Caucus and its budget proposal, which, despite a funding surplus, included major cuts and funding denials. Ahead of the session, the caucus said its sights were set on shrinking spending and limiting the growth of government.
In his Thursday press release, Sommers criticized “decisions that cut food assistance for vulnerable children, reduced business opportunities, slashed funding to the University of Wyoming, eliminated resources for cheatgrass control, denied raises for state employees, and removed positions critical to protecting Wyoming’s water rights.”
Most of those proposals did not make it into the final budget bill.
Sommers also pointed to a controversy that dominated the 2026 session after a Teton County conservative activist handed out campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor. Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously voted to ban such behavior before a House Special Investigative Committee found that the exchange did not violate the Wyoming Constitution nor did it amount to legislative misconduct. A Laramie County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation is still underway.
But “controversies like ‘Checkgate’ undermined public trust, and decorum in the House deteriorated,” Sommers said.
“Transparency and accessibility will remain central to how I serve,” Sommers said. “As I’ve done before, I will provide regular updates on legislation, seek your input, and clearly explain my votes.”
Incumbent bows out
Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, currently represents House District 20, but announced Thursday morning that he would not seek reelection.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as your State Representative for House District 20. When I first ran, I had hoped to serve up to three terms and continue building on what I learned during my first term,” Schmid wrote in a Facebook post. “But life can change your priorities. Over the past year, my family has gone through some difficult times. My wife is dealing with serious health issues, and the death of my brother, Jim, just a few short weeks ago have made it clear to me where I need to spend my time.”
In March, Bill Winney, a perennial candidate and former nuclear submarine commander, announced he would run for House District 20.
The official candidate filing period opens May 14.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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