CHEYENNE—Gov. Mark Gordon signed Wyoming’s next two-year budget late Thursday, using his veto pen in the process to strike roughly two dozen items and footnotes.
“Delivering a sound budget was the essential objective of this session, and to have the Senate, the House, and the Chief Executive all sharing the credit is, in itself, a remarkable achievement all things considered,” Gordon wrote in his budget message.
Significant cuts were expected this session after the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-line Republicans that controls the House, told voters starting last April that it aimed to “DOGE” the state budget. Closer to session, the caucus said it was “setting some targets,” and had its eye on pre-pandemic spending levels. Members of the group on the Joint Appropriations Committee, the Legislature’s primary budgeting arm, ahead of the session recommended significant cuts to the University of Wyoming and the defunding of the Wyoming Business Council.
Ultimately, however, lawmakers approved a budget last week that largely favored the Senate’s position, which closely aligned with the governor’s budget recommendations.
Gordon applauded the Legislature “for the actions they took recognizing families, communities, and preserving opportunity.” He highlighted areas of funding that the Legislature approved, including state employee salary raises and an external cost adjustment for developmental preschools.
But the governor wrote that he was also “saddened by some of the reductions.” One of those reductions included nixing SUN Bucks, the summer food program that fills the gap for kids when there are no school lunches. Gordon said eliminating funding for the program “makes life more difficult for already struggling families.”
“As I asked in my state of the state, ‘what kind of people are we if we don’t feed our kids?’”
A budget marathon
After the Joint Appropriations Committee made deep cuts into the governor’s budget recommendations, the Senate and House quickly diverged in their separate budget proposals. The Senate immediately restored most of the governor’s recommendations, while the House maintained the JAC proposal.
The Senate considered 70 total amendments while the House had 247, a record far surpassing proposed changes in any previous budget year since at least 2002. Both chambers ultimately adopted the same number of budget changes, 37.
The Senate made swift work of its amendments, tackling an array of changes off the bat with one large amendment. Meanwhile, House lawmakers dragged along in their budget debate, finally wrapping up on a Saturday evening while their Senate colleagues had finished the afternoon of the previous day.
After this arduous process, the Joint Conference Committee made a swift compromise, putting together a unified budget that both chambers approved on Monday. That budget was just about $53 million shy of Gordon’s $11 billion in recommendations.
‘Separation of powers’
In his two terms as governor, Gordon’s line-item vetoes of the budget have often focused on the separation of powers. This year was no different.
“In its simplest form, the legislature passes legislation and the executive branch enforces that legislation,” Gordon wrote in his veto letter. “Likewise, the legislature appropriates funds for running of state government.”
As such, Gordon’s first line-item veto deleted a section of the budget that requires the money to be used “for the purposes, programs and number of employees specified in this act and the approved budget of each agency.” Lawmakers added footnotes to some agency budgets specifying the number of employees those agencies could fund, among other footnotes that direct state entities to use their money in certain ways.
But Gordon argued that this section “breaches the separation of powers” outlined in the Wyoming Constitution. While the Legislature “holds the power of the purse,” the executive branch determines the number of executive branch employees and manages those employees.
“It is not the role (though it may be an understandable temptation) of the legislature to attempt to assume the extent of executive functions such as deciding how many positions, the level of individual pay, or the classification of specific employees of the executive branch,” Gordon wrote.
Wyoming Business Council
The governor expressed relief that the Legislature “left a path” for him, lawmakers and the Wyoming Business Council to “work together to fundamentally address the future of statewide economic development.”
The council’s future was uncertain throughout the session after the Joint Appropriations Committee moved in January to completely defund the agency, an action that Gordon wrote had broadcast a message that “Wyoming was closed for business.” But the Joint Conference Committee ultimately landed on a compromise, earmarking about $15 million for the council. A footnote makes half of that funding available for the first year and requires the council to submit a budget request to get the other half for the second year.
Through line item vetoes concerning the council’s funding, Gordon said he “widened the path to allow for a more complete and comprehensive review while still meeting past and current commitments.”
Gordon vetoed the footnote in the council’s budget that split the agency’s funding, meaning the governor would like to restore two years of funding immediately.
“The legislature has made it clear that revisions to the Wyoming Business Council are necessary,” Gordon wrote. He added that “meaningful reform will take time,” as well as participation from the public, his office and the Legislature.
While his veto doesn’t increase funding for the business council, “it does lengthen the time to expend those funds for necessary projects while working to revamp the agency,” Gordon wrote.
“It does allow us to measure twice and cut once.”
University of Wyoming
Funding for the University of Wyoming was another area where Gordon took action.
The Joint Conference Committee ultimately restored most of the governor’s recommendation for the school’s funding, with some caveats.
Lawmakers added a footnote that requires the school to use some of its state money to review its “organizational structure and staffing patterns,” identify positions and degree programs that could be eliminated and “recommend opportunities to further restrict any diversity, equity and inclusion” programming.
They also tacked on a footnote directing UW to submit a $5 million cost savings and reinvestment plan to the governor and the Joint Appropriations Committee by December or risk losing $10 million in state funding. Gordon vetoed this footnote.
“The legislature, in requiring a predetermined outcome, lessens the value of a study potentially stepping over dollars to pick up nickels and dimes,” he wrote.
The governor also vetoed several other footnotes that designated funds for particular uses.
Veto overrides
The House and the Senate now have the opportunity to override any of Gordon’s line-item vetoes. Such a decision requires two-thirds support in both chambers.
At publishing time, the Senate, where such action must originate, had not yet considered any overrides.
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