Hello Sublette County and LaBarge, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you on Tuesday, Jan. 10, the start of the 2023 General Session of the 67th Legislature. The Legislature was sworn into office by Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Keith G. Kautz on Jan. 10. Then the Legislature elected its constitutional officers and began introducing bills into the session.

Senator Ogden Driskill from Devils Tower was elected President of the Wyoming Senate. In the Wyoming House of Representatives, I was elected Speaker of the House for the 67th Legislature. It is truly humbling to be elected to the highest position in the Wyoming House.

In 1961, Joe Budd of Big Piney was the last Speaker of the House to be elected from Sublette County. Joe Budd’s great-granddaughter Matty Fear Swain, great-great-grandson Shad Swain, and great-great-granddaughter Jaylee Swain were in attendance today to watch the event.

The last Speaker of the House to be elected from Pinedale was Dick Luman in 1943.  Needless to say, it has been a long time since Sublette County had a Speaker of the House.

As Speaker of the House, one of my duties is to introduce bills, and I introduced 20 of them on Jan. 10. I will talk about those bills in another legislative update.

I can be reached at albert@albertsommers.com with questions or comments. Thank you.