State Budget Short Almost $1 Billion

A Park County Legislator says that the state may need to dip into the rainy-day account to bridge the gap between the state’s budget and an almost one-billion-dollar deficit.
Representative Scott Court says that Wyoming’s total budget for the next two years is $8.63 billion, but the state’s deficit is between $900 million and $1 billion. He says that legislators are banking on the idea that the interest from different savings accounts will close the gap, along with an increase in oil, coal, and gas production and income. But if need be, they will utilize the rainy-day account beginning the second year of the biennium.
Court notes that before the session really got started, additional revenue sources that might have helped to fill the state’s coffers were taken off the table, such as a statewide lodging tax and cigarette tax.
However, Court points out that despite the sometimes-contentious nature of this legislative session, Governor Mead briefly addressed the group at its conclusion, stating that he was proud of the work that was completed. Court says that the Governor considered this legislature one of the most productive of all the sessions during his 8 years as governor.
On a personal note, Court added that despite not being able to serve his term in the state’s capitol building, it has been an honor to serve in Wyoming’s Citizen’s Legislature, and he expressed his gratitude to the voters in House District 24 for giving him the opportunity to represent them.