Priorities make progress

The 2023 Wyoming legislative session isn’t far away, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening!

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Interim committees have been meeting throughout the summer, and some of our top priorities have made progress.

Here’s a recap of what’s been going on:

In August, the Joint Interim Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee passed 23LSO-0056 out of the committee with a 6-5 vote in a small win for maternal health. If passed in the upcoming 2023 Wyoming Legislative Session, the bill would extend postpartum Medicaid care for new moms from 60 days to 12 months following birth. American Heart Association knows that babies have the best start in life when new moms have the medical support they need and is excited to continue its work on this issue in the upcoming session.

During the interim, we also won committee approval for its T-CPR bill. The bill, which passed out of the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee with an almost unanimous vote, will now make its way to legislative session. The bill is an important one for rural health, as it would mandate T-CPR certifications for emergency dispatchers. This means dispatchers would be trained in providing CPR assistance during calls, providing needed help until first responders arrive.

There was one disappointing outcome from the Interim Revenue Committee. In September, the committee heard discussion on increasing the cigarette tax in Wyoming, which currently stands at 60 cents per pack. While we and other advocates stressed the importance of a substantial tax of at least $1, the committee opted to include a 45-cent tax in the session bill.

The legislative session will kick off on Jan. 10, 2023.

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