Lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee continued their hearings on budget requests from state agencies on Tuesday, focusing on tourism, state employee pay tables and fire codes.
Sen. Ogden Driskill (R-Devils Tower) said the Office of Tourism was doing a “stellar job” during a segment on the Department of Tourism.
Executive Director Dominic Bravo said the state hosted 8.7 overnight stays in 2024, adding that a $1 million media campaign by his office results in $10 million in tax revenue.
Bravo said additional funds could go toward more marketing and using artificial intelligence, although he didn’t go into detail on what that might look like.
Tourism faced some criticism over the drawn-out construction of the State Shooting Complex. Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) and Sen. Tim Salazar (R-Riverton) said they were told it would be a $10,000 ask and no more. Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) said he’d worked with the shooting center, noting that they had recently hired a CEO. Laursen said now would be a bad time to “pull the plug.”
Committee members also asked for a lot of reports. For example, Sen. Mike Gierau (D-Jackson) asked the Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety for an actionable plan on ways the state could reduce regulatory burdens in the building code.
Rep. Bear also asked the state librarian to report back to the committee in regards to parental controls and classification of children’s books versus adult books at the state library.
Rep. Trey Sherwood (D-Laramie) also asked the Department of Administration and Information (A&I) what it would cost the state to avoid an increase in state employee pay. Many state agencies have testified to the committee they’re unable to retain employees or fill open job positions because the state isn’t offering competitive salaries.
A&I said they did not have exact numbers, but estimated that to avoid an increase in paytables now would mean state employee pay would be “almost 12%” behind the market-rate pay if not raised this year. Even more so for occupations like snowplow drivers and nurses.
The committee also found time to talk to the Gaming Commission, the officials that regulate the state’s booming gaming and betting industry.
Bear noted that other committees had tried to get a hold on off-track betting locations by increasing taxes. The commission’s executive director, Nick Larramendy, said an increase in taxes “would effectively shut those smaller ones down.”
Additionally, Larramendy said he’s concerned if gamers and betters are driven away by an increase in taxes, they would flock to unregulated online gaming options, which is harder to regulate or prosecute from a state position, as those options tend to be internationally organized.
