Gov. Matt Mead addressed members of the Wyoming Press Association on Friday about issues the legislature is facing during this session.
He began by discussing what Wyoming has already done for its budget, stating cuts of up to $60 million per year have already been made.
“The total cuts I made were about 6.5 percent,” Mead said. “Some agencies we didn’t cut at all, and some we had to cut by 10 percent.”
He said the original amount that was recommended to cut was $220 million. He also said that Wyoming could face another $140 million in cuts, which could mean cutting positions that are currently filled, whereas the state is trying to only cut vacant positions at this time.
In spite of more potential cuts, Mead says that Wyoming is still economically strong.
“I’ve said it several times before, the state of the state is strong,” Mead said. “However, we know the state of the nation’s economy affects us, which is why we need to save and work on our budget. We also need to do a better job of forecasting for the future.”
Mead is hoping to build a more permanent savings for Wyoming by increasing severance tax by 1.5 percent and getting the state’s Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, also known as the “rainy day fund,” up to $3 billion.
“We need to smooth and stabilize the government so we can spend what we have and not what we hope to have,” Mead said.
He also addressed the 10 cent fuel tax legislation, which would amount to about $70 million. The tax increase was proposed as a way to improve funding for the state’s highways and roads.
“I did not propose an increase in fuel taxes because I thought it would help my popularity,” Mead said. “But if we want to bring more businesses to Wyoming, then we have to have basic infrastructure, and that includes roads, sewage and water.”
While some of the legislation, including the fuel tax, is facing criticism, Mead says these are issues that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
“We don’t like waiting around for the federal government or the next governor to take care of these things. That’s not what we do in Wyoming,” Mead said.
Mead also addressed the issue of Senate File 104, which would grant the governor the authority to select a director of the department of education from a list of three candidates that have been nominated by the board of education.
“I’ve heard a lot of criticism that this is a power play by the governor or a power play by the legislature, but I’ve never heard that it’s not an issue and that Wyoming is exactly where it wants to be in education,” Mead said. “If we’re going to hold teachers and principals accountable, then we need to hold ourselves in the capitol accountable.”
Mead also discussed the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. Senate File 104 proposes the expansion of health care coverage to low-income patients.
“I found Obamacare to be unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court says it is constitutional so now we have to play with the cards that are in our hands,” Mead said.
