BEN NEARY Associated Press writer | Posted: Sunday, February 17, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Legislature will settle down this week to the business of crafting a state budget. And given the unusually flat condition of the state's wallet this time around, top lawmakers say the job could prove tougher than usual.
Both Senate President John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, and House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, emphasize that the budget proposed by the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee wouldn't cut existing funding for any state agencies for the coming biennium, or two-year budget cycle.
Yet the two top lawmakers say that bills have been introduced seeking more than $400 million. That far exceeds the $30 million left in the JAC budget to pay for such projects.
"I have mixed feelings about that," Schiffer said of the amount of money left for the Legislature to spend.
"I've been here when there was no money in the General Fund when we started the budget," Schiffer said. "As a matter of fact, I've been here when we were in the hole. So I'm not too alarmed about that. I don't consider it even earthshaking, to tell you the truth."
Schiffer said the state's financial position means that the Legislature is going to have to be very careful about approving new spending. He said he hopes the Senate can get through the budget by the end of the week.
"It's a sign of the times, I guess," Schiffer said. "In that context, you have to remember that no agency had their budget cut. Maybe they didn't get all of the supplemental funding they wanted, but there were no cuts recommended in this budget. Every agency should be certainly adequately cared for."
Top lawmakers and Gov. Dave Freudenthal alike have warned in recent years that increasing the basic cost of state government would leave less money available for legislators' cherished individual projects.
Mike McVay, director of the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, has tracked the increase in the recurring cost of basic state government.
Discounting one-time expenditures, such as capital construction projects and extraordinary agency requests, McVay said recently that the cost of government was roughly $2.4 billion for the 2005-2006 biennium. He said that rose to $2.6 billion for the two-year budget cycle that ends this summer. And he said it will rise again to an estimated $2.9 billion for the coming two-year budget cycle.
Cohee said he believes that legislation moving through this session that would establish the legal framework for the underground storage of carbon dioxide in the state is tremendously important for the state's future, particularly its coal mining interests. The bills would establish that the owners of the surface of the land own the legal right to the subterranean storage space.
The University of Wyoming, which houses the state's School of Energy Resources, and General Electric Co. last week announced that they're interested in working together to build a coal research plant in the state. The facility would allow research into transforming coal from the state into synthetic gas.
Freudenthal has proposed that the state spend $20 million from the federal money it stands to get over the coming year for reclamation of abandoned mine lands as the first payment on the $100 million project. The proposed funding is included in the JAC budget recommendations.
"The potential there is absolutely phenomenal," Cohee said of the GE proposal. "The symbiotic relationship between GE and the School of Energy Resources, and in the limited way state government, what they can do together to come up with solutions for environmental issues over the next 50 years, in my opinion is colossal."
Cohee said he expects the House to take up discussion of the budget by the middle of this week, and said final consideration of the budget may occur next week.
Given the state's budget picture, Cohee said budget discussions will require the Legislature to focus on every item in the budget.
"Given the fact that we have between $35 and $55 million, we had bills with appropriations of over $400 million," Cohee said. "So many of them are simply going to have to be told 'no.'"