FY 2015/2016 Budget Holds the Line on Spending While Making Focused Investments in Infrastructure, Education and Energy
March 6, 2014
Cheyenne, Wyoming – The Wyoming State Legislature concluded today after delivering on its promise to produce a balanced, conservative budget that holds the line on spending while investing in Wyoming’s people, jobs, communities, responsible mineral development and education.
Governor Matt Mead signed the Fiscal Year 2015/2016 Budget Bill into law yesterday. The budget appropriates $3.32 billion, a slight decrease from the previous biennium with nearly 300 fewer state employees. It also does not grow the size of state agencies.
Most importantly, this budget plans for the future. The budget contributes to the growth of the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA), commonly referred to as the “rainy day fund,” while the Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund (PWMTF) also continues to grow. Legislators said the budget does more with less and strikes an appropriate balance between current needs and long-term planning.
During a bipartisan press conference at the Capitol today, lawmakers addressed several measures that passed the Legislature including a budget that prepares Wyoming to be a major player in the world economy. The budget makes targeted investments in infrastructure and education, two critical components for growing the Wyoming economy in the long-term. The budget provides over $175 million in funding for cities, towns and counties to grow and improve infrastructure.
“This budget establishes the foundation we need today for economic development tomorrow,” said Senate President Tony Ross. ”This will ensure today’s generation, and those to come, have the opportunity for meaningful careers and good paying jobs right here in Wyoming.”
The Budget also makes focused investments in education. Over the next two years, Wyoming’s K-12 schools will also see an influx of $250 million for new school construction and major maintenance to give Wyoming kids the best environment and tools to achieve success. The budget also includes $102 million for new construction and major maintenance at Wyoming’s community colleges and UW, which play a critical role in providing the advanced knowledge and technical training citizens need to compete for high-wage jobs.
“It’s not enough to just educate and prepare Wyoming citizens for competitive jobs,” said Senate House Speaker Pro Tempore Rosie Berger. “We need to bring these jobs right here to Wyoming. This starts by putting in place world-class infrastructure that entices the private sector to set up shop in Wyoming.”
This session the Legislature also concentrated on defending and promoting Wyoming’s energy sector, a critical job and revenue producer for the state. The Budget invests in projects that will spark innovation and help ensure a future role for mineral production, including the study of an energy mega-campus designed to be a one-stop shop for commercial scale industries in Wyoming. Lawmakers also passed legislation that helps safeguard the future of Wyoming coal by allowing the state to take an active role in establishing terminals capable of exporting Wyoming coal to new and existing markets.
“Promoting and protecting our state’s extractive industries is essential to safeguarding revenues, jobs and our local economies and building reserves,” said House Speaker Tom Lubnau. “It is vital to preserve and protect Wyoming’s rich natural resources that will power us into the future.”
The Legislature also took action against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), passing measures to minimize EPA intrusion and keep state control over regulation of mineral extraction.
With the aim of ensuring the public has adequate access to the Wyoming State Capitol and legislative process, the Legislature designated $259 million to the renovation and restoration of the Capitol and adjacent office building. The Capitol is nearly 130 years old and in dire need of repair. In its current state, the Capitol is vulnerable to fire and fails to meet a number of important safety codes.
“The Capitol is a symbol of our state and a part of Wyoming’s history, a part worth preserving,” said President Ross.
Lawmakers Eye Energy “Mega-Campus” to Boost and Sustain WY Economy
Legislators Tour Canadian Energy Complex as Part of Initial Project
Study
March 5, 2014
Cheyenne, Wyoming
– Nine Wyoming lawmakers traveled to Alberta, Canada last weekend to get a
first hand look at a major energy complex that has spurred billions of dollars
in economic investment and created thousands of high-paying jobs. During the
Budget Session, legislators designated funding to study the energy mega-campus
and the potential benefits a similar model could bring to Wyoming.
Legislators from the House and Senate toured Alberta’s Industrial
Heartland Complex, a one-stop shop for commercial scale industries that spans
over 200,000 acres. Lawmakers who participated in the trip were Representatives
Kermit Brown, Steve Harshman, Michael Greear, Bob Nicholas, David Miller and
John Freeman and Senators Ogden Driskill, Larry Hicks and Jim D. Anderson.
Canada successfully leveraged many of its natural resources
to create one of the world's most attractive locations for chemical,
petrochemical, oil, and gas investment. Nearly sixteen years after the
project launched, the region is now home to over 40 companies with over $25
billion in investments.
“This is one of many options the Legislature is looking at
to bolster and sustain our energy economy for the long-term,” House Majority
Floor Leader Kermit Brown said. “With an energy mega campus such as this, the
potential is there to create lots of high paying jobs for Wyoming citizens. The
average income for employees at Alberta’s complex is estimated to be $148,000.”
According to Brown, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland complex
utilizes a number of symbiotic relationships that allow different industries to
work in tandem, minimizing costs and maximizing benefits. The infrastructure
exists within the campus, in terms of roads, pipeline corridors and other
necessary functions, that allows one process to finish and another to pick up
where the first left off, creating a “one-stop” shop for production.
“This is only a conceptual idea right now,” Brown added.
“But if Wyoming is going to get beyond being seen as a colony only mined for
it’s resources, we have to find ways to add value to our production chain.”
Op-Ed: Education and Economic Development Go Hand in Hand
March 5, 2014
By House Speaker Pro Tempore Rosie Berger and House Majority Whip Tim Stubson
Wyoming’s greatest export should never be its children. Too often, Wyoming’s best and brightest are forced to leave our state to pursue a career or even just to make ends meet. This is a continual threat to our economy, our families and our way of life.
However, this doesn’t need to be a daily reality faced by Wyoming families. Wyoming can lay the foundation today to ensure this generation and those to come have the opportunity for meaningful careers and good paying jobs right here in our state. Young people who want to stay in Wyoming should have that opportunity, and our communities and families will be all the stronger for it.
We can accomplish this by strengthening our private sector and providing citizens with the education they need to fill the jobs we build for. Education and economic development go hand in hand and Wyoming is poised to bolster both of these in the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget.
Be it providing a world-class primary education, or the opportunity for vocational and technical training, Wyoming must arm our citizens with the education and experience they need to be successful in today’s workplace. The Legislature is doing just that by making strategic investments in Wyoming’s education system, from pre-school through college. A strong educational foundation opens doors for our citizens, adds value to our local economies and enriches our communities.
Over the next two years, Wyoming’s K-12 schools will see an influx of $250 million for new school construction and major maintenance to give Wyoming kids the best environment and tools to achieve success. We’re making targeted investments in early childhood education. We’re also protecting education for the future by creating a new fund, the School Foundation Reserve Account, to shield school funding from a projected loss of mineral revenue.
The University of Wyoming and community colleges across the state play a critical role in providing the advanced knowledge and technical training Wyoming citizens need to compete for high-wage jobs. The budget includes $102 million for new construction and major maintenance at Wyoming’s community colleges and UW. The budget also expands the Hathaway Scholarship Program – the first increase for the awards since the program’s start in 2005. The Legislature also budgeted an additional $14 million to address enrollment growth and a $7.5 million endowment program in order to leverage local resources.
Additional college investments include a top-tier science program at UW, the Flex Tech Building at Laramie County Community College, a tech center at Eastern Wyoming College, the Student Success Center at Central Wyoming College and specialized centers at Northern Wyoming Community College District in Sheridan and Gillette.
However, it’s not enough to just educate and prepare Wyoming citizens for competitive jobs. We need to bring these jobs right here to Wyoming. This starts by putting in place world-class infrastructure that entices the private sector to set up shop in Wyoming. The budget provides over $175 million in funding for cities, towns and counties. We also increased funding for local capital projects from $54 million to $70 million, providing additional dollars to invest in key projects, which are sure to yield long-term results.
This session we’re moving forward legislation that helps safeguard the future of Wyoming coal, including a bill that would allow our state to take an active role in establishing export terminals capable of exporting our coal to new and existing markets. Another project is a “bolted-on-site” laboratory that incentivizes real world solutions for processing power plant emissions in value added processes.
The budget also institutes the study of an energy mega-campus designed to be a one-stop shop for commercial scale industries in Wyoming. The project is inspired by Alberta’s Industrial Heartland in Canada, the country’s largest hydrocarbon processing region, not to be confused with the oil sands development. Canada successfully leveraged its natural resources to create a region that is now home to over 40 companies with over $25 billion in investments.
Wyoming’s best resource has always been its people. And the greatest thing we can do to protect and grow that resource is to invest in the education, resources and infrastructure necessary to Wyoming jobs and careers worthy of their talents. By prioritizing Wyoming’s infrastructure and education, we are laying the foundation for economic growth that will present new and exciting job opportunities for Wyoming citizens today and into the future.
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