Gov. Mark Gordon has signed the state budget for the next two years. He thanked the Legislature for its effort in helping produce a budget that provides adequate funding for the state government. He said his line-item vetoes were needed to protect the constitutional balance of powers.
Gordon specifically thanked the Legislature for increasing state employees' salaries to be closer to neighboring states and for providing an external cost adjustment for developmental preschools.
However, he called out the elimination of SUN Bucks, a summer food assistance program for children, and significant cuts to the Wyoming Business Council (WBC). He said his precise line-item vetoes will allow the WBC and the Legislature to work together to figure out a path forward for the state’s primary economic development agency.
State employee pay
The first line-item veto of the budget was in Section 2, which states that the money appropriated will be spent “for the purposes, programs and number of employees specified in this act and the approved budget of each agency.”
Gordon said this violates Article 2, Section 1 of the Wyoming Constitution. This section states the powers of government are divided into three different departments and those departments can only exercise the power given to them individually.
“It is not the role (though it may be an understandable temptation) of the legislature to attempt to assume the extent of executive functions such as deciding how many positions, the level of individual pay, or the classification of specific employees of the executive branch,” wrote Gordon in his veto letter. “Yet, firmly implanted in our Constitution is the principle that the legislature's management tool is appropriation. It is the executive branch, which must execute under the law.”
Gordon said vetoing just this section is cleaner than vetoing every specific employee pay table in the budget. Executive branch agencies, with the governor’s approval, will figure out how they wants to spend the funds appropriated to them for the next two years.
The budget also limits salary increases for certain agencies. Gordon said this is not the job of the Legislature but the job of the director of the Budget Department, the director of the Departments of Administration and Information, and the Human Resource Division administrator.
“As written, this provision infringes on the separation of powers and encroaches upon the inherent prerogative of the executive branch. Accordingly, I have stricken the offending language,” he wrote.
Department of Agriculture
A section of the budget said that no money will be used from the Animal Damage Management Program, weed and pest control division, beef council division, Wheat Marketing Commission, Dry Bean Commission and the leafcutter bee division for cost allocation.
Cost allocation is the shared funds of state agencies, boards and commissions to pay for shared services of the state, like access to the attorney general’s office, email, human resources and others.
Gordon vetoed this footnote, saying it allows certain entities to not pay their fair share and could encourage other agencies to do the same.
“As drafted, exempting agencies from paying a fair share is inherently counterproductive and wasteful,” Gordon wrote. “Nevertheless, I have also directed the State Budget Department to work closely with the designated boards and commissions to affirm allocations are proportionate, fair, and based upon the allowable administrative costs available.”
University of Wyoming
The Legislature set aside $100,000 for an external financial, administrative and operational audit of the High Bay Research Facility at the University of Wyoming (UW). The facility researches how to maximize the use of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. The Legislature also prevented the money from being used for anything else.
Gordon said the instructions on the audit are too broad and will result in unnecessary effort. He outlined more specifics of what the audit should do and said he hopes UW takes this veto as advice on how to get the information the Legislature is seeking.
The governor also struck a footnote that would bar state funds from paying student athletes' salaries or endorsement compensation for participation in athletic activities sponsored by UW.
He said it hampers the options available to UW and that other states are using state funds for this.
“The University needs flexibility to craft a program that meets the dual objective of obviating the use of state funds and meeting the requirements set out by the conference [Mountain West],” wrote Gordon.
The Legislature included the exact same footnote for community colleges. Gordon also vetoed that one.
Wyoming Business Council
The Legislature appropriated funds for the WBC for only one year. Gordon vetoed this time limit.
“There is little doubt that any meaningful reform will take time and participation from the public, my office, and the legislature, especially during an election year when all of the House and one-half the Senate are up for election during the interim,” he wrote. “My veto does not increase funding for the Wyoming Business Council, but it does lengthen the time to expend those funds for necessary projects while working to revamp the agency.”
He also vetoed the de-appropriation of the Business Ready Community Account. These funds are used for a grant and loan program that provides money for publicly owned infrastructure that helps businesses and promotes economic development.
“There are projects already approved and are important to communities in the state, and pending final approval by the SLIB [State Loan and Investment Board] in April 2026,” wrote Gordon. “One is an application for a workforce housing project in Laramie County. This veto will not only allow that application, if approved by the SLIB to move forward, but will allow other pending projects throughout the state to continue their work, and avoid an abrupt end to state support for economic development in Wyoming.”
The budget also included a forensic audit of the WBC. Gordon said there have been no allegations of fraud, embezzlement or misconduct by the WBC, so the word “forensic” should be removed. This is a recommended veto. Gordon said he was recommending this veto for clarity.
Next steps
The Legislature has until March 11 to override the governor’s line-item budget vetoes. Overriding requires a two-third majority in each chamber
