Wyoming Governor Matt Mead presented his 156-million dollar budget to the Joint Appropriations Committee and said that he wants to focus on a number of building projects in an effort to invest in Wyoming.
Mead argued that the state has enough money to pay for his budget, but Casper Representative Tim Stubson says he’s not so sure.
“The governor’s focus on one time spending is appropriate. I don’t think there will be enough to cover all of his requests as well as legislative priorities, so there’s going to have to be some trimming along the way.”
Senator Eli Bebout says he has concerns about a couple of building projects recommended by the governor. That includes something the University of Wyoming wants.
“The science building, a good project but the price tag is $200,000,000. And we have the demands of the state institutions, we have the demands for all the other things the governor has brought up and that’s just a big ticket item. And also we’re looking at the Rochelle Center. How do we prioritize with limited funds we have relative to getting the product we want.”
But Cheyenne Democrat Ken Esquibel says they have plenty of money to fund the request. He said that projects from making Highway 59 safer to funding education are things they should do.
“These types of projects have an inherent value as well. I think those types of projects are definitely worthy of funding.”
The committee will hear from various State agency heads this week.
