Public-sector unions are among the largest political spenders in the country. When dues are deducted automatically, a portion routinely flows to political causes, ballot measures, or candidates—often without the individual employee’s explicit, ongoing consent. This legislation ensures that no public employee’s hard-earned, taxpayer-funded wages are funneled into politics unless they personally choose to do so. That is basic fairness and respects the First Amendment rights affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME (2018).

When government payroll systems are used to collect political or union money, taxpayers indirectly subsidize one side of the political debate. This creates an unhealthy feedback loop: unions negotiate higher compensation and benefits with the very officials they help elect or influence through automatically collected funds.

By removing public employers from the fundraising business and requiring disclosure, the bill restores neutrality. Government should represent all citizens—not serve as an arm of any special-interest fundraising machine.

This legislation is a strong, principled step forward for government accountability, employee freedom, and taxpayer protection in Wyoming. It modernizes public-sector labor rules by closing loopholes that have allowed public resources and coerced payroll deductions to subsidize political activity. Here’s why it is not only fair, but genuinely necessary.

Public employers (state agencies, counties, cities, schools, etc.) will no longer be allowed to automatically deduct union dues, fees, assessments, fines, or political contributions from employees’ paychecks. This is pure paycheck protection.

Why is this fair? Every dollar a public employee earns comes from Wyoming taxpayers. The government has no business acting as a free, automatic billing service for any private organization—especially one that sits across the bargaining table from that same government. Employees remain completely free to write a check, set up a direct debit, or use any other voluntary method to support their union. The only thing that changes is the elimination of automatic, effortless extraction.

The bill explicitly bans payroll deductions for PACs, 527 organizations, federal or state political committees, or direct contributions to candidates. This is critical for integrity in politics.

Furthermore, it requires that every labor organization representing public employees must annually report:

These reports must go to every member, be posted on the union’s website, and be available to the public.

This is sunlight—exactly what good government demands. Union members deserve to know exactly where their money is going, especially when it supports candidates, legislation, or lawsuits that may not align with their personal views. Taxpayers and oversight bodies gain visibility into organizations that wield enormous influence over public budgets, pensions, and policy. The carve-out for unions that already file the federal LM-2 form is reasonable and avoids duplication.

No one is forced to join or leave a union. Collective bargaining continues where authorized by law. The only change is that support must be voluntary and transparent.

This is common-sense, pro-worker, pro-transparency legislation. It treats public employees as the independent adults they are—capable of deciding for themselves how to spend their own money. It treats taxpayers as the true funders of government, entitled to know how their dollars indirectly support political activity. 

And it treats government itself as a neutral referee, not a partisan collection service.