Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify Rep. Sherwood’s question about employee pay tables.
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 resulted 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) about the consequences of avoiding increasing the state employee pay table.
“I'm curious if you have a calculation or a number for us on what it would cost the state in not enacting this change to the pay tables, in terms of vacant positions, work not getting done, that cost for hiring and training and that turnover,” Sherwood said. “I don't know if you have a calculation for your own agency or enterprisewide, but I would just love to be able to share with my constituents that cost/benefit analysis of making sure our hardworking employees are paid well, paid competitively so that we can recruit and retain and what the cost to the state is if we don't do that.”
Sherwood followed up with an email to Wyoming Public Radio saying she’s “very much in favor” of increasing state employees’ 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 who 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.
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.
