Wyoming Majority Enters 2018 Budget Session With
Substantive Solutions
House and Senate Leaders Share Top Priorities and
Confidence in Ambitious Agenda
Cheyenne, Wyo. - Going into the
2018 Legislative Budget session, leaders in the Wyoming House and Senate
majority showed confidence that Wyoming’s fiscal position is strong and that
the state is well equipped to tackle current and future challenges. Leaders for
the Majority articulated their confidence that Wyoming remains the best place
in the nation to raise a family, run a business and pursue your dreams after
hearing Wyoming Governor Matt Mead’s final State of the State address on the
first day of the session.
Republican leadership in the Wyoming Legislature expressed their
commitment to continue working for Wyoming by focusing this session on:
●
Making government more accountable and efficient
●
Diversifying Wyoming’s economy for the long-term
●
Responsible spending & smart planning for
the future
●
Putting Wyoming families first & preserving
our way of life
“Wyoming’s citizen legislature is a gem of our state and Wyoming’s
legislative process works. The work of legislating is not always pretty or
without disagreement, but this body is forward-thinking, deliberative and
deeply committed to strengthening Wyoming for our young people and families,”
said House Speaker Steve Harshman. “In Wyoming, we believe in leaving things
better than we found them. Be it our lands and natural resources, economy,
education system, government services or financial stability, this session
Republicans will work hard every single day to make Wyoming an even better
place for current and future generations.”
“Wyoming is blessed with tremendous natural resource wealth. It is our
natural resource economy that pays the majority of our taxes, funds our schools
and creates jobs for people statewide. As we work on diversification we must
also redouble our efforts to expand permitting and add value to the resources
that deliver such incredible benefits to our state,” said Senate President Eli
Bebout. “The Wyoming Legislature has already begun to chip away at our
structural deficit because of the fiscal conservatism of the House and Senate and
because of the vast mineral resources that allow us to build up our savings in
preparation for downturns.”
“Our disciplined savings and stewardship of those savings - both rainy
day funds and permanent funds - saved us during the worst of Wyoming’s recent
downturn. Our savings also allowed us to make smart, thoughtful cuts and to
begin reducing the structural deficit. In the last year, we have reduced our
structural deficit by more than 20 percent. We will continue this session and
beyond to protect our savings and extinguish the structural deficit,” concluded
Bebout.
“We owe it to the people of Wyoming to squeeze more value out of every
dollar by seeking out efficiencies within every government agency. By
committing to improve the way government works we can expedite processes and
enhance accountability while driving down costs,” said Senate Majority Leader Drew Perkins. “It is rewarding to see
government work for Wyoming people. Our commitment to consolidating redundant
functions and increasing efficiency across the board will allow Wyoming to run
as smoothly and effectively as possible while increasing the quality of
services to the public. The University of Wyoming is already deploying these
efficiency practices and is achieving positive outcomes alongside cost savings.
Now it is time for all of state government to adopt the same, common-sense
practice.”
“House and Senate Republicans will advance a number of bills this
session aimed at making lasting and meaningful gains in diversifying Wyoming’s
economy, adding-value to our natural resources and expanding permitting so that
more of our minerals are available for responsible production,” said House
Majority Leader David Miller. “On the diversification front, I am particularly excited
about a package of new legislation that supports the unencumbered use of
blockchain as well as bills that can open Wyoming to serve as a leader in this
exciting and cutting edge sector. These important bills will allow
Wyoming people to participate in virtual currency markets, if they so choose,
and create a business-friendly climate for innovators in the financial
technology space.”
“We have a proud history of prioritizing education, investing in our
young people and ensuring Wyoming students have access to the best learning
opportunities – be it K-12, Wyoming community colleges or the University of
Wyoming,” concluded Harshman. “Wyoming schools, community colleges and UW
remain among the best funded in the entire country. Wyoming’s education system
ranks as the best in the west and one of the best in the country. Our
commitment to Wyoming’s young people - who are the next generation of Wyoming
civic and business leaders - must remain a hallmark of our work and legislative
action.”
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