From the Desk of Senate President Ogden Driskill

Last week, the Wyoming Legislature marked the halfway point, or “crossover,” of the 67th Budget Session. Both the Senate and House worked late nights to complete final readings of our respective budget bills, which will now head to joint committees for further negotiations.

There’s a lot of work to get done, and the hardest is still ahead.

Media reported last week that there is a “massive fiscal rift” between the Senate and House budget bills – about a $900 million difference. This owes to a hard right turn by some members of the Senate and others willing to go along to get along.

I am disappointed with the direction this bloc has steered the body, but as President of the Senate, my job isn’t to impose my preferences or agenda. It is to support the Senate’s collective decision making and to uphold the integrity of the policymaking process.

The Senate budget reduces funding for a number of important programs. It cuts, for example, some $200 million from the Capital Construction, or “Cap Con,” fund.

The Cap Con account finances infrastructure projects critical at both the state and local level. This is how we keep our roads, highways, bridges, water systems and other physical resources that we all rely on in good repair.

An amendment to the Senate budget cuts $55 million in funding for the Large Project Energy Matching fund that would have incentivized federal investment into our state’s energy resources. The Senate bill eliminates salary raises and pension-matching programs for public employees. It reduces the Governor’s request for new state staffing positions by half.

These outcomes veer towards the idea that government should provide only the bare minimum. Personally, I believe our state should invest in growth, in education and infrastructure, in aligning our energy industry with market demand, and in taking care of our most vulnerable residents.

But I also believe that elected officials represent their constituents. If members of the Senate have done that, then it bears reason that this budget should represent voters’ attitudes.

What makes me question that is how many of these changes happened. The amendment process has gotten out of hand. Changes that could alter the trajectory of our state were often introduced at the eleventh hour, providing little time for due consideration and virtually no public input. That makes me question whether voters’ interests were truly reflected.

The budget the Joint Appropriations Committee produced during the interim – a months-long process that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars – was a good conservative budget. It invested over $300 million into long-term savings and $200 million in education savings.

It cut spending by more than $100 million above the Governor’s budget proposal. And that was just a starting point. This is the first time I have seen the JAC refuse to defend its budget.

Ultimately, I voted for the Senate budget bill. Here’s why: the Wyoming Constitution requires that the Legislature pass a balanced budget during the Budget Session. While I disagree with the priorities of the Senate’s bill, I won’t stand in the way of funding our government or obstruct the collective voice of the body.

As I stated above, the hardest work is still ahead. The Senate and House must now reconcile differences between our budget proposals.

That will require compromise and concessions from all members, and, ultimately, the outcome will likely be a middle ground between the two bills. This is the largest gap I have seen between the two chambers, but I am optimistic that common sense and good policy will prevail.

There are many important areas where the Senate and House are aligned. For example, both budgets fully fund the Department of Health, which provides important services for seniors, disabled residents, and care centers. Both bills fund the mineral royalty grants program, which is an important source of funding for local services, and both budget bills include a cost-of-living adjustment for K-12 educators.

The budget process has immense impacts on the future of our state. It is too important to be railroaded by special interests, ideological dogma or political posturing.

I hope legislators can put aside these tendencies and focus on substance. If they will, I trust the Legislature will reach a good, conservative budget agreement that delivers for the people of Wyoming. That’s the Cowboy State way, after all.