By james art 
By Maggie Mulian, Wyofile
Cheyenne – When it comes to the extra budget, the Chamber and the Senate stand about $ 109 million in addition to costs.
The division pale compared to last year’s split of billions. However, within it, there are several philosophical differences that are likely to be challenges, as the two chambers begin their work for a single budget.
The Chamber and the Senate are divided into three basic questions – how best to remove the funds for fire restoration, to what extent local authorities need to be recovered for losing revenue from reducing the tax on ownership and how much money to secure the governor’s office For energy projects that match the funds.
In uniform years, legislators have developed the upcoming two -year budget of the state, also known as the budget of the Bi Budget. In odd years, as they do now, legislators work on the additional budget-who, as the name implies, adds the financial plan, which is already in force.
Prior to the arrival of the budget bill in both chambers, the Committee on Joint Budget Loans reduced approximately $ 235 million from Gordon’s recommendations through cuts to fire recovery, energy projects, emergency funds for local authorities and reimbursement for maternity and mental health tariffs.
Budget Credit President John Merr, R-Gillette, stood until JAC’s work at a press conference on the Freedom Caucus cause of Wyoming. Bear is the former chairman of the group.
“Preliminary assignees also stated this – this is probably the closest budget that was once between the two chambers at that moment. Part of this is the fact that we had very little to work [after] We at JAC have reduced the budget so significantly, “Berer said.
And the suggestions for the Senate and the Chamber budget come under the governor’s recommendations and share some similarities. Any targeted search and rescue means, as well as extracting a historical tree in the northwestern Wyoming. Both have seized $ 4 million to children’s development centers and have added a language that requires the state’s human resources department to prepare a report that details how many civil servants work remotely.
Wild fire funds
A continued debate this legislative session revolved around how best to answer the historic season of wild fire last year and the devastation it brought. Moreover, legislators, as well as the governor, dispute whether it is better to help owners of land with grants or loans.
Of the 850,000 acres of last year, 70% were state and private land. As such, the governor offered to spend $ 130 million grants to help landowners restore herbs, replace fences and restore structures, among other things.
However, JAC has reduced this to $ 100 million and made it a loan program to be administered both by wildlife and from the confidence in natural resources and the service of state lands and investments with a 2% interest rate.
This caused “serious concerns” for the governor who held meetings in a vest, sheridan and Whitland to hear directly from people in communities recently hurt by wild fires.
Subsequently, the house returned $ 40 million from these dollars for grants and reserved the remaining $ 60 million in a loan program. The Senate dumped the loan program, and instead chose $ 100 million grants.
Funds for filling and energy
As MPs have considered several tax reduction in this session, they do not agree with the filling, which acts as a restoration of local authorities who rely on ownership taxes.
Property taxes do not fund state services. Instead, they pay for local services such as the education and transport of the K-12, senior centers, hospitals, water and sewerage, law enforcement, libraries and construction and maintenance of roads and sidewalks.
Both the Chamber and the Senate chose filling in the budget, but to different extensions and with certain conditions.
The above house’s proposal does not restore municipalities or counties, but includes $ 15 million filling for special areas related to health and emergency management services.
In the meantime, the lower house has offered $ 72 million grants to local authorities, but will only be available for the eight “difficulties” of the state. This includes Big Horn, Washakie, Goshen, Niobrara, Weston and Crook.
There are several other strings attached to the position of the house.
For example, $ 72 million will only be provided if at least one of the 10 related ownership tax bills did it in law. Plus, the County of Difficulties will only be ranked for funds if the community has imposed the maximum tax on the mill.
Among his abbreviations, JAC focused on the governor’s energy, reaching approximately $ 100 million in the program, which aims to use private and federal energy project funds, including carbon capture.
The Senate reimbursed $ 100 million while the House retained the JAC position.
Other differences
The governor asked the legislators to raise rates for restoring Medicaid for both mother’s health and behavioral health – $ 2.4 million for the first and $ 1.6 million for the second. Both requests were divided between state dollars and federal matching funds.
While Wyoming has been a crisis of mother’s health and has long been struggling with one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, JAC has rejected both increases in percentage.
However, the Senate changed its budget to include both requests. Reporter Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, brought mirror changes to the House, but they both failed.
“A hospital in my district and one close to us in Kemmer have closed their motherhood care,” Seni Shuler, R-Evanston, on the Senate floor, told Senator. “We’re in a bad way.”
The Senate also approved an increase in salaries for the Wyoming Tourism Council – something that the governor recommended. The salaries of these employees are funded by the accommodation tax and are lagging behind other salaries of civil servants.
The Chamber has rejected a mirror change after a member of Freedom Caucus Rep.
“We will continue to stand up and say” no “,” We don’t want to have another cookie, “Panderfrath said. “We do not believe that is good for you.”
Larsen pulled back.
“I just hope that the staff of this agency have not listened and somehow thinks they are coming to a grandmother, begging for a cookie, when everyone really wants, is the capital of the pay for the time they put in,” Larsen said.
What now?
Now it depends on a selected group of members of the Chamber and the Senate, known as a Joint Committee of the Conference, to negotiate their differences. But the JCC must work within the two budgets, which means that it can only accept the Senate or position of the House for any amendment.
If the two chambers cannot reconcile, the budget moves to a free committee in which MPs return to the JAC budget. From there, any amendment to any amount of each agency is allowed.
Neiman announced his JCC selections on the floor of the house on Tuesday, which excluded budget loans, with the exception of Bear.
When Wyofile asked Neiman’s decision at a press conference, Berer said he had to take a break to members of his committee. ”
“I will postpone the speaker who made these final decisions, but I will say that as chairman of budget loans, I have worked hard and run my committee as a bunch of mules. So they deserve a vacation for their hard work, “Berer said.
Neiman followed.
“What I wanted to do was bring together a group of people who would be very, very focused on what the position of the house is, making sure they are going and fight for that position,” Neiman said.
The Senate has not completed its budget presentation by posting time for publication, nor has it chosen its management members of the JCC. The chairman of the Senate Budget Credit Committee Tim Salazar, R-RiverTon, did not respond to Wyofile’s request for comment.
This article was originally published by Wyofile and was reprinted here with permission. Wyofile is an independent non -profit organization focused on people, places and policy of Wyoming.