On Feb. 15, House bill HB0001 was signed, cutting the Tribal Liaison budget in half.
“We did indeed make cuts to the Governor’s office, and the Governor had recommended a reduction to the Tribal Liaison position for the supplemental budget but, just because of the State’s fiscal position the JAC reduced the funding to $80,000 for this next fiscal year,” Representative Lloyd Larsen, a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee of the Wyoming state legislators, said.
The JAC is responsible for planning funding for the State of Wyoming each year. According to the House bill, funding for the Tribal Liaison positions are being cut from $160,000 per year to $80,000 per year.
There are two Tribal Liaison positions, one for the Eastern Shoshone tribe, and the other for the Northern Arapaho tribe.
“They govern themselves for most things and yet receive many state services, so the need for good communication between the tribes and the Governor’s office is critical,” Larsen said “The Tribal Liaison position was created to allow the Governor to have an individual in his office dedicated to each tribe, in an effort to address concerns, or needs that may exist or arise.”
Larsen said there have been success’ with the liason program and there have been challenges as well.
“The most recent liaison for the Shoshone Tribe was Leslie Shakespeare, and was an excellent representative for the Governor’s office, keeping the Governor appraised of the state and federal issues impacting the tribal members,” Larsen said. “But there have been times when other liaisons were not providing the same type of information.”
There is no plan to discontinue the program at this time Larsen said, however, its impact could be reduced.
“There is a chance that the interaction between the tribes and the Governor’s office could be less than we would prefer, and I also think there will be a greater need for the Select Committee on Tribal Relations to address the concerns on the two Tribes and insure that the Governor’s office appraised on all issues” Larsen said.Tribal
