Op-Ed: Session Vital to Building a Better, Brighter Future for Wyoming

By:
Republican Leadership
Senate President Phil Nicholas – Laramie
Speaker of the House Kermit Brown – Laramie
Senate Majority Floor Leader Eli Bebout – Riverton
House Majority Floor Leader Rosie Berger – Big Horn
Senate Vice President Drew Perkins – Casper
Speaker Pro Tem Tim Stubson – Casper
Majority Whip Hans Hunt - Newcastle

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”
-Abraham Lincoln

As the Republican leadership of the 63^rd Wyoming State Legislature, we know that these next 40 days are vital to building a better and brighter future for Wyoming. The decisions we make have the chance to influence the next 10 years and beyond.

We enter this session with a handful of priorities, and a clear vision of what we want to accomplish; thoughtful of how we can best represent the citizens of Wyoming and what kind of legacy we want to leave for future generations.

As we travel to Cheyenne, and engage in the legislative process, we are reminded that we are part of a remarkable nation, a nation that stands as a great example of strength and of freedom. Much of the strength of our country is owed to our founding fathers who recognized the importance of state sovereignty, giving them the ability to solve problems in a way that uniquely meets their local needs. Too often we have a federal government that forgets the importance of that system and seeks to impose solutions that make sense from afar, but are simply unworkable when put into practice. This session, we will have the opportunity and the obligation to fight for the right to solve Wyoming problems with Wyoming solutions.

Growing our state and local economies while creating meaningful employment opportunities for Wyoming citizens is a top priority this legislative session. And it comes as no surprise to many that education and economic development go hand in hand, and right now we have the opportunity to advance both.

Providing for our local communities is one of the best investments the state of Wyoming can make. We have worked hard to provide high-quality highways and transportation channels, to build out our communications infrastructure, and to diversify our economic climate. Historically Wyoming spends $9 billion a biennium in advancing these initiatives and we must continue to invest in a way that grows the state of Wyoming’s economy.

We have recognized for years the importance of having a world class education system and have strived to make our schools, from preschool through college, the best in the country. As a result of this commitment, Wyoming was recently rated in the top 10 for early-childhood education by Education Weeks Quality Counts report.

When it comes to making significant investments in our education system and promoting economic development, we have been putting our money where our mouth is. This session will be no different. We are committed to having the tough conversations and debates and to keep moving Wyoming forward.

We will continue to create opportunities for meaningful careers and good paying, stable jobs right here in Wyoming. Jobs that will keep Wyoming students in Wyoming. We will maintain our business friendly environment, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of our citizens and welcoming new businesses into our state. Wyoming is, and will continue to be, open for business.

With the release of the CREG (Consensus Revenue Estimating Group) report last week, we learned the revenue projections are estimated to decrease by $217 million. Being a state with a robust energy sector, we have seen this cycle of decreased energy prices before. We know this means that we will need to find ways to do more with less.

We will thoughtfully balance savings and investments in a way that insures stability and economic vitality for the years to come, while making focused investments in Wyoming’s infrastructure that create jobs and maintain a high quality of life throughout our communities.

Wyoming is consistently ranked the #1 Best Run State in the country because of our ability to control government growth, understanding the importance of saving, and our ability to operate within our current and projected revenue.  

This session is crucial to planning a better, brighter future for Wyoming. We will continue to strengthen our economy, improve our infrastructure, carefully develop our natural resources, keep state decisions in state hands, maintain a controlled budget and invest our human and financial resources wisely.

We will be measured in how we accomplish a positive change and we need the courage to plan, make changes, and ensure that the years to come are years of growth and prosperity – one day at a time.