Gov. Gordon Says Legislature Overlooked Emergencies and Unintended Expenses
CHEYENNE –– The Wyoming Senate will not pass a supplemental budget this year.
The senate issued a statement Wednesday evening, saying the governing body would not increase spending “needlessly.”
“Both chambers of the Wyoming Legislature are working hard to deliver property tax relief, and with that comes serious considerations on what we can afford and how,” Senate President Bo Biteman said. “As fiscal conservatives, we know that spending hundreds of millions of dollars while debating massive tax cuts, is not the conservative thing to do.”
Biteman said the senate decided it needs to hold off on the budget until they know the impact of the property tax cuts and the “successful rightsizing of the federal bureaucracy by the new administration.”
The senate believes the 2025-2026 biennium budget provides necessary funding for the state and doesn’t believe they should have a supplemental agreement eight months away from budget discussions.
“While issues like the ECA (external cost adjustments) are critically important, the senate has taken the appropriate steps to ensure those items are covered in stand-alone legislation without adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the budget. It is important that while the Wyoming State Government is debating historic tax cuts and requiring local governments to make difficult decisions, the Wyoming Legislature should do the responsible thing and keep our spending under control as well,” the statement reads.
Gov. Mark Gordon expressed disappointment with the decision, saying the legislature has overlooked emergencies and ignored unanticipated expenses for political talking points, saying the refusal of the supplemental budget is what happens in a no-compromise environment.
“Since taking office I have submitted balanced budgets to the legislature that are carefully analyzed, well-vetted and reflect what I consider a common sense view of what’s best for the people of Wyoming. I opened this session by explaining that this supplemental budget was focused on emergencies and unanticipated expenses,” Gordon said. “I would hope that our legislators have their constituents’ best interests in mind, and I remain optimistic that they will refocus their attention to address the most important issues facing Wyoming at this time. These would certainly include fire suppression and recovery; funding the property tax relief program; and addressing inflation in school funding. It is hard to raise a calf or drill a well on rhetoric alone.”
