Lawmakers in the state House and Senate are separately trying to amend the supplemental budget bill. Each chamber faces a Feb. 7 deadline to pass it.
Last month, the Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) slashed Gov. Mark Gordon’s funding recommendations for things like water monitoring, rate increases for healthcare workers and additional lawyers for the attorney general’s office.
On Feb. 5, some legislators tried bringing those funds back.
One attempted resurrection aimed to allow legal funding in the governor’s office to be used for water rights modeling.
“What we heard is that we have the legal structure to argue these water rights,” Rep. Lloyd Larsen (R-Lander) said to Wyoming Public Radio in the Capitol Extension. “But we need modeling, we need funding to get some of this other information to support our case.”
Larsen’s amendment would free up those dollars for other uses, like the North Platte River settlement between Wyoming and Nebraska, he said.
He filed a third reading amendment aiming to do so on Feb. 7. It hasn’t been voted on as of publication.
He and Sen. Barry Crago (R-Buffalo) also brought mirror amendments to change $100 million meant for wildfire recovery from a loan program at 2% interest to grant money, but Larsen’s was defeated and Crago’s was withdrawn.
“We really want to get out and make sure that we start addressing the impacts of that fire on invasive species and land restoration,” Larsen said.
Also during second reading on Feb. 5, a cadre of representatives in the House tried to restore the governor’s recommendation for increased Medicaid rates paid to OB-GYNs.
Many parts of Wyoming have a shortage of maternal care physicians.
But Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) told reporters during a House leadership press conference that he didn’t believe the rate increases would make a difference for physicians.
“It already is a substandard pay for the work that those doctors do,” said Bear, the chair of the JAC and the former chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. “Throwing more money at a substandard pay isn't going to fix people wanting to leave. I think the problem is probably more along the lines of the cost of doing business here.”
The amendment to restore the rate increase eventually failed in the House by a vote of 23 to 38, but succeeded in the Senate 21 to 7, sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill (R-Devils Tower). In the lower chamber, Reps. Larsen and Styvar co-sponsored an amendment trying to bring the fund back again to the House version of the supplemental budget for third reading. It has yet to be voted on as of publication.
All told, representatives brought 44 second reading amendments to the budget on Feb. 5, while senators brought 28. On Feb. 7, members of the House filed 41 third reading amendments, with senators filing an additional 28.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
