Save or spend? Legislature weighs how to use $913 million

CODY — In the coming 2023 legislative session, the Wyoming Legislature will not only be able to avoid fiscal cuts, but will also have to figure out how to allocate excess funds coming into the state.
That conversation, in the form of a supplemental budget approval, will dominate the coming session, Park County legislators said.
“The blessing, and the challenge, is that we have money this year,” Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody said. “The question is how we’re going to spend it.”
The influx of revenue into the state’s accounts comes amid a recent boom in the mineral extraction industries, Newsome said. 
In its October 2022 forecast, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group reported that “strong oil and natural gas prices in the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2022 significantly outpaced CREG’s forecast and contributed to higher-than-expected revenue collections for the state’s primary operating accounts.”
In his Nov. 18 budget message, Gov. Mark Gordon said the state currently has $913 million in unspent funds in its general fund and budget reserve accounts. The governor said he proposed putting almost half of that amount into savings to generate “ongoing revenues that will benefit us in the coming years and future generations.”
“In all of this, we must also remember that our fiscal responsibility requires that we set aside some of this surplus in savings,” Gordon said in a Nov. 18 press release.

Newsome and Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, said they were both in favor of the governor’s proposal to set aside dollars into permanent funds for savings.
“I’m a saver by nature, and I like that we would have those funds into the future,” Newsome said. “About a third of our budget comes from those investments, so building those up is an important piece.”
The mineral extraction industries currently make up roughly 40% of the state’s valuation, Gordon said. 
French noted that while those industries are thriving right now, they remain “under assault” from President Joseph Biden’s administration. Biden campaigned on “going to end oil” and the country is currently producing 1 million barrels per day less oil than it did prior to the beginning of the Covid pandemic, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The uncertainty about the future of the industry makes the governor’s savings proposal more important than ever, French said.
“My time on the legislature has taught me there are good times and bad times, and the good times don’t last forever,” French said. “So we need to save every dime while we can.”
While saving is the cornerstone of Gordon’s supplemental budget, it also allocates funds to several areas that “maintain safe and healthy communities and protect Wyoming’s economy” such as mental health care, cyberinfrastructure, enhancing security at state prisons and controlling invasive species and predators, according to the governor’s budget message.
The governor also recommended using the excess funds to address the impacts of inflation, including funding property tax relief programs, increasing state employee compensation and setting aside additional funds for construction projects as costs have increased.
All of these recommendations will be considered by the legislature during its general session, which begins Jan. 10. Gordon’s proposed supplemental budget can be viewed at https://sbd.wyo.gov/home/wyoming-state-budget.
 
This story was published on Dec. 13, 2022.