CHEYENNE – There’s been a huge shift in dynamics in the state legislature: this year, there is in combination a very conservative chair and vice chair leading the senate, and senator Darin Smith is optimistic there will be great strides made this year in bringing the State of Wyoming back into a more conserve stand on a variety of issues.
“I won’t be playing ‘the game.’ My goal is to have less legislation. How about less laws [ for the state of Wyoming]. There are already plenty on the books,” Smith said.
The newly elected senator said he’s not concerned about having his name on a bill or making a name for himself. He is more concerned with being effective in passing conservative measures that are good for the state and good for the people of Wyoming. Smith is prepared for the 2025 legislative session with bills that can be introduced if needed, but he has seen draft bills other senators plan to propose, and he plans to get behind the bills he feels will move the state forward into a more conservative position of governance.

“Not re-inventing the wheel gets a lot done… I don’t care about my name on something, I care about getting things done,” Smith said, adding, neither the legislative body nor the governor has been truly conservative for the past 20 years, and since the voters of Wyoming have elected so many conservative legislators, there has been a shift that should be noticeable in the coming session. Specifically, for the first time in history the senate chair and vice chair are both true conservatives, and there is conservative leadership in the house as well. He has high hopes this year they will be able to work together to reduce the tax and regulatory burden on Wyoming citizens.
“This state is flush with resources,” Smith said, explaining the Wyoming can afford to do things like permanently reduce property taxes by 50 percent on residents and homeowners while not putting extra taxes on the backs of other industries. “It’s time to tighten our belts and not grow the government for a couple of years. At the same time, we can find $400 million in state coffers to ease the property tax burden off the backs of the people. It’s not complicated but it will take resolve to get it done.”
He explained, that’s a small portion of the nearly $11 billion annual spending in last year’s budget.
Smith said some of the big items he expects to hear on the floor will include the removal of gun-free school zones; legislation requiring people using publicly funded bathrooms must use the bathroom that correlates to their gender at birth, spending cuts, protecting families, protecting gun rights, removing discrimination with ESG (economic, social, and governance) reform and the removal of DEI policies, and requiring hand-counting and speedy reporting of election ballots.
Smith, who has a financial background, will represent Platte County on the appropriations committee in the 2025 legislative session, which began this week.