This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
On Jan. 7, day 13 of the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) hearings on the state budget, agencies brought up issues with water infrastructure and rising costs for equipment and construction.
The Wyoming Water Development Office highlighted last year’s LaPrele Dam breach and the collapse of the Fort Laramie Canal tunnel as evidence of aging irrigation infrastructure. In its budget book, the office pointed out that construction projects cost more these days.
The development office said local governments are concerned about being able to meet residents’ water demands and quality in the coming years due to aging water systems.
The office also faces issues with employee retention.
Even with all of these challenges, the department is not asking for any extra money, or “exception requests,” for the 2027-2028 budget cycle.
Meanwhile, the state engineer’s office mentioned their staff have had to take more and more time to work on Wyoming’s water rights compacts.
The office also mentioned in its budget book that Wyoming is facing legal pressure from states in the lower Colorado River Basin, as well as from the federal government, to work out water agreements. Beyond the Colorado River agreement, the office’s budget book says, “Current litigation between Nebraska and Colorado on the South Platte River” is expected to “increase strain on the North Platte River.”
To help deal with the Colorado River workload, the office is asking the interim JAC for almost $500,000 to fund two new full time positions.
Earlier this week…
According to a WyoFile report published on Jan. 8, lawmakers on the JAC met behind closed doors on Jan. 6 to discuss the idea of a “possible action … toward the judiciary in the budget,” Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) said at the time.
The JAC then considered reducing the number of state Supreme Court justices from five to three, WyoFile reported, in response to a recent state Supreme Court decision that protected Wyomingites’ access to procedural and medication abortion in the state.
Ultimately, lawmakers took no concrete action at that time.
This past summer, lawmakers on the interim Joint Judiciary Committee narrowly voted down a draft bill that would’ve required Senate confirmation for state Supreme Court justices.
The Senate side of the committee voted 3 to 2 against the bill, while the House side voted 6 to 3 in favor of it. In order to be introduced at the legislative budget session this February, the legislation needed majorities of lawmakers in both chambers to greenlight the idea.
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.
