Even though Wyoming already has numerous liability laws on the books to protect business owners seemingly rendering such an amendment unnecessary members of the Senate saw the amendment as a simple ask. The Wyoming Legislature had already acted on bills in the past to protect the owners of ski resorts in similar instances, for example, and a similar bill on the books could potentially help to dissuade opportunistic attorneys from pursuing frivolous lawsuits against business owners trying to save their businesses while acting in accordance with state and local public health orders. It would increase business confidence, Driskill said, keeping business owners doing their best to follow the law from being punished for simply trying to keep themselves afloat.

For members of the House, even a compromise appeared to be a non-starter. Many believed the legislation could potentially take away ones First Amendment right to petition their government through the courts and felt they were being forced to cave on a flawed bill, where the numerous good parts of the legislation were being held hostage by the bad parts.

Eventually, members of the House negotiating team eventually supported a toned-down version of the amendment drafted by Sen. Tara Nethercott, a Cheyenne attorney who was similarly reluctant to support the deal.

However, when the bill was brought back to the House for final approval late Saturday afternoon, members eviscerated the amendment and the process to introduce it in nearly two hours of debate, casting doubt that the legislation would pass. House Speaker Pro Tempore Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, said the amendment was potentially unconstitutional, saying that rolling over would be a black mark on the House of Representatives. Rep. Charles Pelkey, D-Laramie, who originally planned on voting for the bill, later announced he would be flipping his vote, calling the business immunity provisions unnerving a feeling shared by several other attorneys in the House. Others expressed anxiety about the possibility of leaving a bad law on the books for the six weeks until the Legislature meets in a second special session later this year. One other Democrat, Rep. Sara Burlingame, D-Cheyenne, also joined Pelkey in opposing the bill, citing similar concerns.

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How a question of process almost killed a critical bill to help Wyoming's unemployed workers - Casper Star-Tribune Online