Cheyenne, Wyoming — President of the Wyoming Senate Eli Bebout and Speaker of the House Steve Harshman released the following statement today after the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) released their annual January revenue forecast for Fiscal Year 2017 through Fiscal Year 2022.
“While the January CREG report is encouraging as our declining revenue forecast has stabilized and gives us a reason to be optimistic, it does not change the severity of the budget situation in which we find ourselves. Wyoming still faces a significant shortfall with regards to education funding.
“We still don’t know what may be waiting for us around the bend. It’s our responsibility to hope for the best, but plan for the future. Thankfully, we have done just that over the years and we are prepared for the challenges we face today because of the careful preparation and responsible decisions that were made in previous sessions. During flush times, Wyoming saved nearly $1.6 billion in our rainy day fund and $7.4 billion in our Permanent Mineral Trust Fund – savings we will need well into the future.
“As we face challenging times, with diminished revenues, House and Senate Republicans are combing through our fiscal policies to ensure that we are maximizing every dollar and focusing on solutions that take a long-range view with regards to Wyoming’s budget. This session is about working for Wyoming. That means working to accomplish more with less for Wyoming families, communities and businesses. Working to diversify our economy by creating new revenue streams while safeguarding ones that continue to serve us well. Working on solutions that address our challenges for the near and long term.”
The report was presented to the Joint Appropriations Committee this morning. The CREG report is key as the Wyoming Legislature works to address unprecedented budget shortfalls in both education and the general fund.
The full CREG report can be accessed here.
“We still don’t know what may be waiting for us around the bend. It’s our responsibility to hope for the best, but plan for the future. Thankfully, we have done just that over the years and we are prepared for the challenges we face today because of the careful preparation and responsible decisions that were made in previous sessions. During flush times, Wyoming saved nearly $1.6 billion in our rainy day fund and $7.4 billion in our Permanent Mineral Trust Fund – savings we will need well into the future.
“As we face challenging times, with diminished revenues, House and Senate Republicans are combing through our fiscal policies to ensure that we are maximizing every dollar and focusing on solutions that take a long-range view with regards to Wyoming’s budget. This session is about working for Wyoming. That means working to accomplish more with less for Wyoming families, communities and businesses. Working to diversify our economy by creating new revenue streams while safeguarding ones that continue to serve us well. Working on solutions that address our challenges for the near and long term.”
The report was presented to the Joint Appropriations Committee this morning. The CREG report is key as the Wyoming Legislature works to address unprecedented budget shortfalls in both education and the general fund.
The full CREG report can be accessed here.
