Wyoming puts historic amount of money into savings

CHEYENNE – In his weekly interview with Northern Wyoming News on Feb. 20, Senator Ed Cooper said that Wyoming’s budget had reached concurrence between the House and Senate and that about $1.3 billion had been put into Permanent Mineral Trust Fund, which would yield around $65 million a year in interest.

This amount is more than the Senate had planned on putting into savings, but Cooper claims that it is a “really strong thing.” He also stated that this is the most the state has put into savings “in a long time, probably ever.”

With the budget finished, both the House and the Senate are now working on reaching concurrence on bills that have made it across to their respective floors.

When asked about which Senate bills he would be paying attention to as they go through the concurrence process in the House of Representatives, Cooper said that he had been keeping an eye on the bills he is sponsoring. He said, “The bills that I have carried have already gone through, and they are in pretty good shape.”

Of the four, Senate File 115, which would restructure the way dental insurance payments are handled, was the only bill of Cooper’s that died in committee in the Senate.

The other three area waiting final approval in the House in different stages.

Senate File 87, which would increase the threshold for qualification as a large project regarding natural resource funding, is awaiting third reading in the House. Senate File 154, which would supplement the maintenance and expansion of oil refineries in Wyoming has been placed on General File. Senate File 157, which would allow the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to apply for participation in emergency weed and pest management programs, has also been placed on General File.

Cooper discussed Martha Lawley’s House Bill 121, which is currently awaiting action in the Senate Revenue Committee. The bill was not on the agenda for the Revenue Committee’s Tuesday meeting.

Another bill that is being discussed a great deal right now is House Bill 103, which would seek to place limitations on changing political party declaration and crossover voting. The bill has taken an unconventional path to being placed on general file; it initially failed in the Senate Corporations and Elections Committee on Feb. 9, but was later reassigned a new committee where it was recommended to pass, and according to Cooper, will most likely come across the floor again this week.

Cooper said that feedback he has received from people in his district regarding the bill has been evenly split between support both for and against the bill. He himself stated “I’m kind of in the middle on the bill.” He supported his stance by saying “In our district, there is very little election influence by crossover voting.” He continued “I agree with the principle of it, but I don’t necessarily agree with the way it was brought forward again after its first trip through the legislative process.”

Later on he was asked about Senate File 43, which would seek to help counties form and fund emergency medical services districts and is set for final approval by Governor Mark Gordon. Cooper’s thoughts on the bill are that “it would be very helpful in our district. It might not make a huge difference in larger districts, but here it would be a huge help.”

Currently Washakie County is funding the contract for air medical transport with Guardian Flight from general funds and funding for the contract with Cody Regional Health for ground ambulance services from the previous county ambulance enterprise funds but that funding will be gone at the time the current three-year contract ends in 2024.

See related story on A5.

Cooper again stressed the importance of bolstering Wyoming’s savings, with the ceasing of American Rescue Plan Act funds and anticipation of a steep decrease in state revenue on the horizon. He cites the prices of oil, gas, natural gas and coal being down as reason to believe that funds will be tighter next year.

With this in mind, Cooper is directing his attention to House Bill 190, the Wyoming value added energy and industrial plan.

This bill would authorize the creation of a select committee with the purpose of promoting projects that have the potential for public benefit to the state of Wyoming. Cooper said that some of the responsibilities of this committee would be to market for the state of Wyoming, and to work towards diversifying the economy of the state. This bill would also allow the governor to assign a task force to focus on particular projects.

Cooper said, “Some people think that makes for a bigger government but it really doesn’t; it makes better use of the people that are here.” He continued, “It’s what I call planting trees; old men plant trees that they will never get to sit in the shade of. I’ll probably never see the direct benefits of this but hopefully generations to come will.”

He believes this bill has “a lot of forward-looking potential if we can get it passed.”

The bill has been passed through the House and after passing the Senate Appropriations Committee is now on General File. Cooper believes that if it does pass during the General Session that it can become functional by May of this year.