CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Legislature plans to wind down its budget session this week. It will wrap up remaining bills while giving itself time to respond if Gov. Dave Freudenthal vetoes any cherished budget items.

The budget the House and Senate approved Friday calls for putting up $3.5 billion in state funds for state government for the two-year period beginning this July.

Among its highlights, the budget would direct $340 million to local governments and $200 million for extra funding of state highways. That's in addition to the basic $2.9 billion required to keep the wheels of state government turning.

Senate President John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, said he expects the budget bill will reach Freudenthal's desk today. And he said he doesn't expect any fireworks from the governor.

The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Friday.

House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, said Friday that the conference committee process to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget went smoothly. The budget will go into effect within three days after it's submitted to the governor if he doesn't act on it first.

Aside from budget issues, several major legislative issues are still moving through the process.

Cutting property taxes

Several bills that would cut property taxes are still alive. Among them are bills that would cut taxes for the elderly and disabled, and another that would expand property tax breaks for veterans.

Freudenthal warned before the session that property tax relief bills shouldn't be limited to the needy, or otherwise require citizens to provide personal financial information to qualify for benefits.

Freudenthal has said that Wyoming citizens are too proud to show local government officials their federal tax returns to qualify for tax relief.

Schiffer, however, said it's clear that whatever general property tax relief bills pass the Legislature will require such means-testing.

"We've had no votes on those yet, they're just starting through out system," Schiffer said of the property tax bills, which originated in the House. "I've got hope for them. I hope they do go through. We need some help, particularly for low income people whose taxes are rising very, very rapidly."

Subdivisions

Cohee said he wants to see the Legislature pass a bill to give counties authority to regulate subdivisions in which lots range between 35 to 140 acres.

"It's assumed that we have to do something because of large masses of land that are being chewed up for ranchettes," Cohee said. "Several counties are just being decimated, like north Laramie County."

Cohee said the future of Wyoming hangs in the balance on the subdivision legislation.

"We have to do something," Cohee said. "There are people who come from all over the world, and drive for 100 miles and don't see anything. Like me, I think they find that to be an absolutely beautiful thing. We're at risk of losing that if we don't do something.

Some other bills on important issues have either already failed or appear likely to die this session.

House Majority Floor Leader Colin Simpson, R-Cody, had sponsored legislation to specify that illegal immigrants couldn't receive government benefits, such as driver's licenses or food assistance.

Although the immigrant bill passed in the House, Schiffer said it's unlikely to move in the Senate this session.

Schiffer said Colorado and Oklahoma both have enacted similar legislation. "In both of those states, they're still trying to figure out exactly what happens when you do that, in terms of the federal programs that are involved, in terms of work force, in terms of particularly health and emergency rooms, those types of things," Schiffer said. "Nobody's exactly sure how those this get worked out."

Cohee said he would like to see the Legislature pass Simpson's bill.

"As a country, I think we need to quit picking on the illegal aliens and start coming around to working smarter, not harder," Cohee said. "If people are employing people they shouldn't be employing, the question ought to be asked of the employer. Or it ought to be asked of the federal government. How do we come up with a system that verifies? And if we don't have enough work visas for enough foreign nationals to do the jobs that don't seem to get filled, let's ask the federal government why we don't have enough."

CBM water

A bill to regulate water produced from coal-bed methane production failed in the Senate last week. Although the bill had been worked out over several months by a task force that included industry representatives, Schiffer said he blames the energy industry for lobbying to defeat the bill.

"I thought it was a good compromise," Schiffer said of the bill. "I thought leaving the regulation of CBM water quantity to the state engineer, that's what the task force recommended. It appears to me that then some members of industry got nervous about it, or switched their point of view. I'll try to visit with those folks and see what their concerns were.

"The problem isn't going to go away," Schiffer said of the need for CBM regulation. "We'll have to take another look at it in the general session (next year) and tweak that bill."