The Wyoming Business Council faced scrutiny from state Freedom Caucus lawmakers on Dec. 4 who were skeptical of the economic development agency and its budget goals.
The lawmakers on the interim Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC), who also heard from officials representing the state Department of Corrections and Bureau of Parole the same day, discussed free market principles with Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell as part of four weeks of budget hearings.
Those hearings will eventually culminate with the JAC sending a marked-up version of Gov. Mark Gordon’s budget proposal to the full state Legislature.
“The problem at hand is economic decline,” said Dorrell. “The markers of GDP, the markers of wages, the markers of the number of job opportunities, the outmigration of our youth and the widening gap between our population and our workforce all spell that our economy is not where we want it to be.”
Notably, Gordon’s budget proposal recommended the Business Council receive nearly half of the funds the agency asked his office for, one of the most significant suggested reductions the governor made in the budget book. The council asked for more than $112 million, including almost $67 million on top of its standard budget, but Gordon ended up recommending $57 million.
“The document that you gave us here that we've all gone through, slide after slide: ‘We are in a long-term decline. Jobs are stagnant. Wages are shrinking. Worst outmigration rate in this country,’” said Sen. Tim Salazar (R-Riverton). “I guess my question is, help me understand what the Wyoming Business Council has done over the years. If we're continuing the slide of all this information that you've collected, that doesn't paint a rosy picture, given the investment that the state has given you over the years.”
Dorrell responded the Business Council started trying to address that very question in 2020.
“We started to understand that it's beyond the investments and policies at our fingertips today,” he said. “It's going to require more investment. It's going to require policy changes that we have not been able to make. And I think that that's … our ask of you today.”
Rep. Ken Pendergraft (R-Sheridan), a member of the further-right Wyoming Freedom Caucus, said the council’s existence seemed to be in conflict with the principles of a free market.
“One of the criticisms that I hear often of the Wyoming Business Council is [that it is] picking winners and losers,” said Pendergraft. As an example, he referenced a grant the council gave to a particular metal fabricator in his community, despite “three or four other entities within the community that do the same thing.”
“Our programs are available to all businesses in Wyoming,” Dorrell said. “The first step that we decide is who applies. So what I would ask is if you could let me know the names of those organizations that might be interested in this. We would happily walk them through the application process, happily understand what they're trying to solve.”
Gordon sent a press release on Dec. 5 affirming his support for the state's economic development offices, adding “The Legislature has the ability to add to the budget, since they are not under the same statutory limitations as I am.” He said he supported “appropriate [government] incentives to support and attract economic expansion in Wyoming.”
Department of Corrections
Besides the Wyoming Business Council, the JAC also heard from agency leaders at the state Department of Corrections. That agency asked lawmakers for additional funding to house Wyoming’s inmates out-of-state due to local staffing shortages, a request Gordon endorsed.
“Having these inmates return is not only my top priority, it controls our entire operational budget and overall budget,” said Dan Shannon, the agency’s director. “Correctional officer vacancies are the number one contributor to reassigning inmates and affecting the entire DOC budget. Our state has had a history of housing inmates out such as Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. I want to reemphasize that it's my top priority to have these Wyoming inmates back in our borders.”
In a press release, Gordon noted that although the agency used its flex authority to cover the costs of housing Wyomingite inmates out-of-state in Mississippi, it now “requires $9.3 million to be effective immediately to cover those financial obligations.”
On Dec. 5, the JAC will hear from agency heads at the state attorney general’s office and the State Construction Department.
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.
