The Blog at MSPC

For Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming – the 2025 rankings reinforce the idea that fiscal conservatism is no longer simply a political slogan in the region, but a defining component of economic strategy and regional identity. It’s also a reminder for Washington of the important fiscal reforms needed.

The rule rescission brings common sense back to federal land management while also protecting the livelihoods of thousands who responsibly make a living on our shared inheritance.

Civic participation in the United States has been weakening for years, and rural states like Montana and Wyoming feel those effects more intensely.

Those states that prioritize fiscal discipline and a low regulatory and tax burden are doing well. The opposite is true if a state fails to keep its fiscal and regulatory house in order.

Education choice in Wyoming and throughout the United States has the potential to usher in an era of learning focused on student success, tailored to their individual needs. This decision is a great start towards that goal.

It is right that Wyoming legislators chose to make it easier for many of those who power Wyoming’s economy in construction, transportation, health care and other fields to more easily earn a well-paid living with a safety net without having to give up the flexibility of contract work.

In states where every dollar and opportunity matters, such as Wyoming and Montana, improving transparency could be just as important as expanding access, ensuring that students who attend college truly benefit from it.

Wyoming legislators should make strengthening the Public Records Act and other government transparency initiatives their center of attention in next year’s legislative session. This would build on the progress made this session for medical cost transparency.

Lawmakers across our region were very busy during the 2026 Legislative Sessions. More than 2,300 combined bills were introduced in Washington (1,157), Idaho (817), and Wyoming (335). There wasn’t a legislative session this year in Montana. Several of Mountain States Policy Center’s (MSPC) recommendations were among those to make it across the finish line.

Transparency is high on the list of every politician’s priorities. They should follow them instead of opting to promote a more opaque government that gives unions a massive gift in the form of easy fundraising.

U.S. energy demand is expected to rise by about 3.5% each year through 2040. There is already severe stress on our aging energy infrastructure, even before accounting for the power-hungry needs of new technologies.

Growing up in the era of pagers and pay phones, I survived cell phone-free until college. As a mom to a teenage boy, I tried to stave off phone use as long as possible. Debates on appropriate screen time, talks about cyberbullying, and warnings about predators have become the norm. For most students, cell phones are an integral part of everyday life, and thus, their use in school has become a contentious issue. Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are each addressing cell

As one Idaho justice noted during oral arguments, lawmakers are capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time when it comes to education policy.

While workers in Wyoming have the ability to opt out of union membership, requiring them to proactively send dues instead of having them automatically deducted from paychecks ensures that they want to belong without doubt.

Civic education doesn’t belong to one type of school or region. It belongs to everyone. Our hope is that teams will come from across Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Eastern Washington, so students can meet peers from different communities, compete respectfully, and go home with a deeper appreciation for how our system works.

The Fast Track Permits Act is a great start to making housing more affordable and attainable in Wyoming. And in coming years, legislators should continue to find ways to allow more people across the income spectrum to enjoy home ownership and build generational wealth.

The Wyoming Legislature is considering a bill that would require hospitals in the state to post prices. The language of SF 57 would essentially force hospitals to list prices for services and materials, which would allow patients to become informed consumers of health care.

Wyoming legislators are right to address the necessity of upholding the principles of federalism in the 2026 Legislative Session in the form of SJ 2.

Wyoming just took an important step toward modernizing how work and benefits fit together. Lawmakers have introduced Senate File 41, a bill that would authorize the creation and use of portable benefit accounts for independent contractors—accounts that can pay for benefits like health insurance and retirement, without affecting a worker’s classification.

We have dozens of policy recommendations for lawmakers to consider. These reforms can be acted on even with the challenging budget situations across the states. Here are a couple of our top recommendations for Idaho, Washington and Wyoming lawmakers