Ross’ Platform
for Wyoming’s Future
Pro-life and Pro-family are Wyoming Values
Since the creation of our state, Wyomingites have always valued every human life.
Article I, Section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution states, “Equality of all. In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all members of the human race are equal.”
When pre-born babies are brutality murdered, can we really say that we are the Equality State especially when some humans are denied the most basic right; the right to live?
We must be there for women when they face the challenges of an unexpected pregnancy. We are obligated to reach out and provide information and encourage those in need to seek the helpful benefits of our caring communities including our pregnancy resource centers that are available in every corner of Wyoming.
We must encourage young men to step up and be accountable for their actions and not place all the responsibilities on women.
We need to do all we can to achieve effective, competent and available maternal and post-maternal care if we truly support life from conception to natural death for all Wyomingites.
Being pro-life and pro-family requires all of us to do are part to protect and honor life; the most precious gift that we have been given.
What kind of state and nation do we want to be? One that promotes a culture of life and joy or one that promotes death and destruction. For me, I choose life. I pray you do as well.
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program” – Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman
The role of government in our lives, as free citizens, should be limited to perform those functions necessary to protect our God-given rights, our safety and necessary infrastructure so we can function.
Our free-enterprise capital system has lifted tens of millions out of poverty. Government should not be in the business of business. Placing risks on hard-working taxpayers by giving our money to competing businesses is not the role of government.
In Fiscal 2003-2004 the Bi-annual Wyoming Budget was $1.55 billion. The current budget for 2025-2026 is $11.1 billion; a 716% percent increase over 22 years. The current spending equals more than $19,000 for every Wyomingite for the current two-year budget.
A so-called taxpayer association claims that the average Wyoming family pays $4,429 per year in state taxes and receives $61,263 in government benefits.* However, their study does not take into account all the federal taxes we pay which comes back to the state in form of grants or the amounts we pay for goods and services we purchase from private businesses that pass along their taxes to consumers in their pricing.
If we get X in benefits and only pay Y, where does the difference come from? It does not come from the tooth fairy. Somehow, someone is paying that difference. Ultimately, it is all of us.
The more we rely on government to fund our personal financial well-being, the more we are dependent on government and the less we are free. Conservative commentator and founder of PragerU says, “The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.”
When it comes to approving our state budget, my test will be, “Is this program necessary to fulfill the proper role of government or is this something the private sector can do and do more efficiently with less cost.”
As your next State Representative, my number one priority is to be your watch dog over the taxes that you pay.
Having served as a field auditor in the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Department for seven years, I will apply a cost/benefit analysis to requests for funding from all departments and agencies. How successful has the past performance been in achieving the goals in line with the necessary government functions? How efficient have the operations been with consideration of keeping costs down?
Has spending so much more money over the past two decades resulted in a more effective government? Has it resulted in less citizens dependent on assistance or has the program grown in numbers and scope? Have health care outcomes improved or gotten worse? Is our infrastructure functioning better or worse?
These are the questions I will use to determine how your dollars are spent and how we can keep your tax burdens from rising dramatically while providing essential services.
I will apply the same standards to analyze our state budget that I apply to my own personal finances. Is this necessary or can I live without it?
*Wyoming Taxpayers Association, The Cowboy Family; an Overview, Page 3
Guiding principles of taxation
The ability for citizens to pay should be the foremost principle of taxation.
Taxes should not be a burden, but a fair contribution by citizens for government’s necessary functions.
Tax policy should benefit the most citizens in a common-sense approach and result in meeting only the basic needs for government services.
Lower tax rates can result in increased revenue through economic growth which was proven by the Kennedy, Reagan and Trump Administrations. (1)
Consideration of any tax should not be decided in isolation when taken into account with all the other taxes and fees citizens face at the federal, state and local level. Although our state does not have an income tax, most Wyomingites do pay federal income taxes.
Limits should be placed on taxation of life’s necessities such as food, healthcare, clothing and housing.
Residential property taxes are the most unfair of all taxes. In most cases, owning a home produces no income. Instead, increasing values result in both increasing taxes AND increasing expenses such as homeowner’s insurance. Inflation causes additional costs such as repairs and utilities.
https://www.heritage.org/taxes/report/the-historical-lessons-lower-tax-rates
Treating symptoms instead of solving the issues
Treating symptoms instead of solving the problems.
The massive spending for the “war on poverty” has cost U.S. taxpayers $11 trillion since its inception during the Johnson Administration. Yet, we still have chronic poverty. Why is that?
The more government provides, the more dependency on government and the less motivation people have to take control of their lives and move forward.
Now, numerous examples of massive fraud in assistance program at the expense of hard-working taxpayers has been exposed.
As a percentage, less people are employed and the number of people living off government benefits has increased significantly.
The long-term financial crisis facing programs like Social Security and Medicare will only get worse unless we increase the size of the American work force from around 60% of adults to 70% or 80% which will contribute to the stability of these programs.
Let us work to promote the value of work and the good health and well-being principles related to having a purposeful, productive life.
Every program that the State of Wyoming provides through our tax dollars must be examined through the lens of whether they achieve success and independence or whether they just encourage people to stay dependent on the government.
A key feature of the structural genius of our American Republic is the separation of powers between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches. One of the provisions of the U.S. Constitution is the requirement that the U.S. Senate review and approve (or not approve) the nominees of the President to serve as District Judges, Appellate Judges and U.S. Supreme Court Justices.
This gives the citizens’ elected representatives input on who will judge the people and the laws of our nation. The first time this has broken down was during the Clarence Thomas nomination, when the Democrats and their allies created a “circus” atmosphere besmirching the process. The same disturbing tactics occurred during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. The system is not flawed. It works well when the process is civil and fair as has not always been the case.
In Wyoming, we have a very different system that leaves out the people’s elected representative. We have a Judicial Nominating Commission made up of the Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court, three members selected by the Wyoming Bar Association and three members selected by the Governor. (1) The Governor can only select someone from three names submitted to him or her by the commission. After the Governor choses, the person takes office.
There are no hearings before the Senate to vet that person and ask the pertinent questions such as whether the judge would make decisions based on the actual words of our Wyoming Constitution or determine how he or she would decide the intent of a statute based on the words in that statute.
The current system has a built-in oversized influence by lawyers who may come before a judge or a justice. Wyomingites have no input before the selection other than suggesting the appointments made by the Governor to three of the seven commission members. We, the citizens of Wyoming are left out of the process and only know who was selected after the Governor’s decision.
The current system must change. I support the federal system where our elected Senators would review the qualifications of a nominee and vote yes or no on that nominee. I also support legislation eliminating the unfair influence of lawyers over the rest of us, by eliminating the Commission. Let the Governor ask citizens who we believe would be good judges and then use his or her discretion to choice a nominee.
Furthermore, when it comes to challenges to the constitutionality of laws, such petitions should go directly to our Wyoming Supreme Court for consideration. The current system of “judge shopping”, where one local judge can rule against a statewide law or put a restraining order in place that prevents the law from going into effect for years, is very unfair. This negates the will of the citizens through their elected representatives, our legislators, and prevents the laws enacted from being enforced for months or years before a local decision is made and then, if the local judge rules against the law, months or years before an appeal is heard before our Supreme Court.
The two legislative actions that I propose will bring true judicial reform to our system and properly rebalance the roles of our Governor, Legislature and Courts.
(1) Judicial Nominating Commission
Protecting our legacy energy industry
God has blessed us here in Wyoming by placing valuable sources of energy in our state for us to explore, extract and produce.
The oil, gas and coal industries and their hard-working employees benefit all of us. We should be grateful to them for the revenue that our state realizes from their efforts. Those revenues help fund education, infrastructure, and other necessary government responsibilities.
There are many challenges that are inherent to these businesses. Permitting, regulations, and inflation affecting the purchases of equipment such as casings for wells, drills and repairs are just some of them.
The chief cause of inflation is federal spending and the significant increases of the federal debt which now approaches $40 trillion. If our energy industries are to continue to be profitable, we must keep government spending, both at the federal and state level, in check. That would alleviate some of the inflationary pressures.
Price fluctuations also affect how these industries operate which creates their own unique challenges.
With so much of our state lands administered by the federal government, there is the difficulty of dealing with Washington bureaucrats who may never have come to Wyoming and do not understand our way of life.
As federal administrations change, so do the regulations. This adds additional challenges such as long-term planning from permit to production.
As a legislator representing my central Wyoming district, I will speak out through our congressional delegation on the best ways to reduce burdensome federal regulations and support efforts to only regulate as necessary and common-sense ways.
The future of our legacy energy industries can be protected when there are good policy decisions.
The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed
Any laws designed to limit our rights as citizens to keep and bear firearms are unconstitutional and need to be opposed.
I supported and spoke out in favor of the Wyoming Legislature’s actions during the last session to ban gun free zones.
As a member of Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association, I encourage all citizens, whether or not they wish to own and carry firearms, to be properly trained.
Knowledge of firearm safety and understanding our rights are essential in a free society.
Throughout history and today, tyrants have prevented their citizens from having the protection that firearms afford. Examples were southern politicians after the Civil War preventing former slaves from having the protection of guns, to our times when civilians in Venezuela and Iran are slaughtered by their own governments and have no rights to possess the means to defend themselves.
The 2nd amendment protects the other rights we have that are part of the Bill of Rights.
Election Integrity – Every legitimate vote counts
In order for our election system to work, every voter should know that his or her vote counts. Even if one ballot is counted for someone who is not eligible, another legitimate voter is disenfranchised.
Only citizens of our great nation have the right to vote. Verifying that right requires photo identification.
When election results are challenged, a paper record, with a fair and accurate re-counting system, is required.
Our state’s county clerks and their staff do a good job. Their input is essential to making improvements so that every voter can have options to exercise his or her rights.
Also, voters need to know who is funding the campaign for candidates for public office. The current system of filing campaign financial reports is inadequate because we only are able to know this important information just one week before the election when these reports are due. Citizens voting early may not even know until AFTER they vote.
I will propose legislation to require an additional campaign filing for all candidates for public office whether it be for state or local elections. That filing date should be five days before the fist day of early voting. Those filings should be prominently displayed on the Secretary of State’ website and on all County websites.
Wyoming does better with election integrity than other states. With that said, there is always room for improvement.
Put Wyomingites in the driver’s seat – Promote wellness – Increase the number of health care providers – Lower costs
As American citizens and Wyomingites we know what is best for ourselves and our families when it comes to our health.
The so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare, has been a disaster. Any person with common-sense could have predicted that its failures would be enormous.
Government micromanagement, massive subsidies to the insurance companies, plans designed by bureaucrats who have never been to Wyoming and regulations that encouraged adverse selection which incentivizes people to wait to pay premiums and then join when they get sick, are just some of the reasons this program is so bad.
I will advocate for the end to Obamacare and put Wyomingites back in the driver seat to choose health insurance coverage that meets the needs of each individual and family in our state. You should be able to choose what is best for you; not what overpaid bureaucrats and experts in Washington, D.C. dictate.
Tax deductible health savings accounts that pay for medical services tax free should be available to every person regardless of what kind of insurance they have or even if they do not have insurance.
Options, such as high-deductible insurance with affordable lower premiums can cover the costs of major illnesses and injuries. Funds from our tax-advantaged savings accounts can cover the cost of routine and general medical care.
Among options, especially for small business operations, we should promote industry association plans in which ranchers, farmers, small energy firms, and many other small businesses can band together and negotiate with insurance companies and health care providers for the creation of health plans that fit the needs of themselves and their workers regardless of how small their business is.
Also, the nature of our rural state demands that we find common-sense ways to attract the best professional doctors and other healthcare providers to live and work here. We are in great need of more psychiatrists, OBGYNs and other specialists. We need more maternity delivery centers as well.
Lowering regulatory burdens and less reliance on low-reimbursements in the Medicaid program by increasing the number of people insured through private insurance options that pay providers better reimbursements are parts of the solution.
As far as Medicaid, we should do what Indiana did. Provide the same option of high-deductible plans coupled with health savings accounts for recipients. This will lower the cost of the state share of the program and encourage Medicaid recipients to be more involved in their healthcare decisions and encourage them to improve their health.
Medicaid should be focused on those that are most in need; the disabled and the elderly. Expansion to those who can work will only make limited resources less available and can delay care for those who need it.
I will encourage a similar effort for high deductible/health savings account options for our state employees. This will save costs to taxpayers and give our hard-working employees options to have savings accounts to cover their person needs and save for retirement when health care needs are the greatest.
With all of this, the most important point to remember is that we are in charge of our own health. I will work with the Wyoming Department of Health to promote a wellness education program called Help Wyomingites Get Healthier. Coordinating with Wyoming’s health care professionals such as family doctors and nurse practitioners, this program will promote the five basics of wellness:
- Good nutrition
- Good sleep habits
- Stress reduction
- Regular exercise
- Engagement with family and friends and volunteering and participating in community activities
The last part is easy to do in Wyoming. We are a caring community with many social events and non-profits doing wonderful work throughout our state.
Improved wellness with actions we can all take will reduce healthcare costs and increase the joy of living in our beautiful state.
I look forward to working with members of the legislature to improve our healthcare outcomes for the benefit of all Wyomingites.
The Wyoming Long-term Care Partnership
Helping families with care needs – Protecting their savings –
Reducing government dependency and taxpayer costs –
No need for expansion of Medicaid
Most partnerships between government and the private sector cost taxpayers’ money and may not result in real economic growth. The Long-Term Care Partnership program is very different.
As people age, the likelihood of needing non-medical care for conditions such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia increases. Someone with these conditions may need 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for many years costing 100s of thousands of dollars. Who pays for these enormous costs.
Private long term care insurance is one of the best options. Another option is Medicaid which comes into play for those with limited financial resources.
The Long-Term Care Partnership came into existence to encourage people to plan ahead by purchasing affordable private coverage to pay first. Then, if care is still needed, a person may qualify for Medicaid and keep as much of their personal savings equal to what the private policy has paid out in benefits.
In a sense, the private insurance plan acts as a deductible for the Medicaid program. For example, if a person can only afford to buy a policy that pays $50,000 per year for three years, and the person needs care over those three years, the policy will pay out $150,000 for the cost of home care or assisted living care. This person could then apply for Medicaid and, if approved, keep $150,000 of their savings.
The benefit to taxpayers is that this person would not even apply for Medicaid until three years from when the private insurance started paying.
This can be an enormous cost reduction to the government program in the long run. Many people who have private long term care insurance never apply for Medicaid, because their policies pay for all or most of their care.
As an insurance agent who focuses on this type of insurance, my clients have received about $3 million in benefits. None of them have ever needed to apply for Medicaid. Without the insurance, it is likely that some of that $3 million would have been paid for by taxpayers through the Medicaid program.
Since private long term care insurance reimburses care providers at a higher rate than Medicaid, promoting this program and getting more people purchasing private plans can result in sustainable profitability for providers. This will attract more people being hired by assisted living and home care businesses. This will help address our state shortage of care giving facilities and service for the disabled and the elderly.
20 years ago, I worked with members of Congress to expand this program to more than the four states that had a plan. Our efforts were successful and the program was expanded to allow every state to have a Partnership program.
In 2009, our Wyoming Legislature passed enabling legislation. But how many Wyomingites even know that this program exists?
I have encouraged the legislature to work with the Departments of Insurance and Health to raise awareness of this unique program utilizing existing public engagement tools such as websites and public service announcements. The more Wyomingites are informed about this option, the more likely there will be less reliance on Medicaid.
Wyomingites can make sure their loved ones that need care have access to quality home or facility care and keep their savings by taking advantage of this dynamic program.
Education: Accountability, Results, and Parental Authority
Wyoming families care deeply about education, and our state has invested significant time, resources, and effort into supporting students. The responsibility of the Legislature is to ensure those efforts are working as intended and delivering meaningful results for children and families.
As a legislator, my focus will be on careful oversight, honest evaluation, and follow-through. Strengthening what works and improving what does not.
Parents First: Transparency and Accountability
Parents are the first and most important educators in a child’s life. The role of government is not to subvert parents, but to ensure they have clear, accurate information so they can make the best decisions for their children.
While Wyoming law already requires transparency in curriculum, finances, and performance, enforcement is weak and accountability is limited.
As a legislator, I will:
- Strengthen statutory reporting requirements so parents and taxpayers receive clear, usable information on curriculum, academic outcomes, and program performance
- Require standardized, publicly accessible reporting formats so information is comparable across districts
- Ensure state agencies verify compliance through audits and performance reviews rather than relying solely on self-reported assurances
- Support consequences written into statute when districts repeatedly fail to meet transparency or reporting requirements
Transparency is not a new promise. It is a legal obligation, and it must be enforced.
Back to Basics: Clear Expectations and Honest Measurement
Wyoming students should graduate with strong reading, writing, and math skills that prepare them for work, further education, or military service. Achieving that does not require legislators to act as education experts, it requires clear expectations and honest measurement.
As a legislator, I will:
- Support clear, limited academic priorities focused on literacy and numeracy in the early grades
- Require that changes to standards or assessments include measurable benchmarks so progress can be evaluated over time
- Promote transparency in how proficiency, graduation, and readiness metrics are defined and reported, rather than allowing them to obscure academic unpreparedness.
- Support regular legislative review of statewide outcome data to identify what is working and what is not
Good policy starts with clear goals and the willingness to measure results honestly.
Spending and Results: Accountability for Taxpayer Dollars
Wyoming spends heavily on education, yet outcomes remain stagnant. Taxpayers deserve to know how education dollars translate into student achievement. While legislators cannot direct individual district spending decisions, they do have a responsibility to ensure the system produces results.
- Require statewide performance and financial reports that allow lawmakers and the public to evaluate return on investment
- Oppose the creation of new programs or mandates without evidence that existing funding structures are producing results
- Support sunset reviews and follow-up evaluations of major education initiatives
Fiscal responsibility means asking whether the system we fund is delivering the outcomes families and taxpayers expect.
Parental Choice: Public, Private, or Homeschool
Parents, not government, are best positioned to decide how their children are educated. Families should be free to choose the educational setting that best meets their child’s needs, whether that is public school, private school, or homeschooling.
It is not fair for families who choose private or homeschool options to pay for their own child’s education while also being required to fund the education of others through taxes.
As a legislator, I will:
- Support legislation that expands parental control over education funding
- Advocate for legally durable Education Savings Account and school choice programs that respect constitutional requirements
- Defend the rights of homeschooling families and private education providers from unnecessary regulation
- Ensure that education funding policies recognize parents as the primary decision-makers in their child’s education
Education policy should follow the child, not trap families in systems that do not work for them.
Career and Technical Education: Funding Must Lead to Skills
Wyoming invests significant resources in Career and Technical Education, yet districts often devote only a small portion to actual CTE programming.
As a legislator, I will:
- Strengthen enforcement mechanisms tied to existing CTE reporting requirements
- Support statutory consequences when districts consistently fail to use CTE funds as intended
- Support accountability measures that ensure CTE dollars result in credentials, workforce readiness, or employable skills, rather than serving only as a pathway to a four-year degree.
- Provide oversight when funds are warehoused without expanding access or outcomes
CTE funding should prepare students for real careers, not disappear into bureaucracy.
A Results-Driven Approach
Parents and taxpayers deserve more than assurances and recycled talking points. They deserve honesty, follow-through, and leadership that pays attention to outcomes.
As a legislator, my role is to watch carefully, ask hard questions, and make sure education policies deliver what they promise. When systems fall short, I will work to correct course, so families and students are not left paying the price.
Supporting ranching and farming in Wyoming
Our Wyoming ranchers and farmers provide nutritious food for Americans throughout our nation.
These private free-market business owners and their employees work hard and sacrifice much for the benefit of all of us. They are an essential part of our country’s Make American Healthy Again efforts.
As a legislator, I will do my part to support their efforts by making sure regulations are only based on common-sense reality by protecting property and water rights.
I will seek out suggestions from these businesses for innovative ideas to assist them such as helping make crop insurance affordable and effective. I will promote association health plans in which small business in the same industry can ban together to negotiate lower cost health insurance plans that meet the unique needs of their families and their workers.
The ability for ranchers and farmers to repair the equipment they own is essential for their operations. If necessary, I will support legislation that does not force them to return their equipment to manufacturers for repairs with only reasonable exceptions.
Recognizing the dangers of wild fires, I will work closely with state officials to develop the best solutions for fire-prevention management.
I will also work with our federal congressional delegation with their efforts to “di-list” animal species that have fully recovered so that ranchers and farmers can protect their livestock from predators.
A thriving agriculture industry is essential for the State of Wyoming.