In it, he decried the “humiliat[tions]” of the Biden administration and federal spending policies writ large, referenced uncertainty caused by property tax reductions and promised to “honor the conscientiousness of our forebears.”
Noting that income generated from investment earnings is on track to outpace all other revenue streams in the state, Gordon also called for $250 million to be placed in savings as a protection against hard times.
But he appeared to reject an idea put forth by the further-right Wyoming Freedom Caucus that the surplus of cash on hand due to investments is a sign Wyoming should ratchet up even more tax relief to its residents.
“Some suggest this is the time to cash in, take care of ourselves, and stop worrying about Wyoming’s future or our children,” Gordon wrote in the introduction to his proposal. “These are the actions that seemingly guided our nation for the last couple of decades as Washington D.C. piled up debt without regard to consequence. This generation has already benefitted more than any other from our predecessors’ efforts; even worse, we have borrowed more from our children than any other in history. This should not be the template for Wyoming.”
On Oct. 30, the state Freedom Caucus held a press conference at the Capitol in which members answered questions about their hopes for changing fiscal policy. Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, was one such member. He commented on the investment revenue increase.
“ All those things are good, but they are at the expense of taxpayers having to suffer large inflation increases and not seeing any kind of relief coming their way until just this year,” said Bear. “They’re getting a little bit of relief from those property tax cuts. So how do we effectuate that in the future? If we control spending … based on things like inflation and population growth, then that will create revenue surpluses. Those surpluses can either be put into savings to continue to protect that savings from inflation … but also returning some of that money back to the taxpayers.”
Property tax relief measures have stacked up in recent years, and local governments’ budgets have shrunk in turn. That’s because property tax revenue goes to fund localities, not the state.
Wyoming lawmakers might pass legislation redistributing sales and use tax revenue to local governments suffering from budgetary whiplash due to the increase in exemptions, a possibility Gordon noted.
As Wyoming Public Radio previously reported, if legislators pass a sales tax redistribution bill, Gordon said he’d drop a $105 million appropriation to local governments from his proposal.
“The property tax discussion is not over, with a pending constitutional amendment yet to be decided next year that may further reduce local revenues,” he wrote. “How our state, her communities and people will adjust to a new, narrower, tax structure is not yet fully understood. My budget recommendation reflects that uncertainty as it provides the first year funding for property tax refund programs. The remainder can be revisited during the supplemental budget session.”
The details
Gordon’s total budget proposal for the next biennium includes $11.13 billion, compared to his $9.94 billion proposal for the 2025-2026 biennium issued in 2023.
Gordon’s proposal suggests funding the state Department of Health at $2.9 billion, about $14 million less than the department requested.
That’s after lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee initiated a deep dive into the agency’s budget, the largest in state government, in an effort some electeds compared to DOGE in interviews with WPR.
And Gordon’s proposal recommends funding the Wyoming Business Council at over $54 million, which is about $57 million less than the council requested.
Gordon also bolded and italicized the need for increased funding to meet the state’s SNAP obligations after the Trump administration changed the match percentage, two new fire suppression modules to meet the state’s wildfire needs and more money for Wyoming state employees to make their salaries competitive in the current market.
The budget proposal from Wyoming’s chief executive kicks off a chain reaction of state lawmaking. Now, legislators on the interim Joint Appropriations Committee will scrutinize it during hearings in December and January, later looping in their colleagues during the February legislative budget session.
As the state Legislature holds the purse strings for Wyomingites, it will be lawmakers who get the biggest say on what agencies and programs get funded and by how much. The governor, meanwhile, has line-item veto authority over the final budget.
The Freedom Caucus has already said it wants to bring the budget “to a pre-COVID level of spending” without specifying how they aim to do it.
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