By Owen Houtakker
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — State lawmakers considered bills Thursday that would repeal or amend certain Wyoming Business Council programs, continuing their efforts to reform or dismantle some of the economic development agency’s core functions.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee discussed three bills: one to eliminate certain WBC programs, another to amend certain WBC programs and a third to reinstate the Countywide Consensus Program as a replacement for the Wyoming Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program.

The Legislature’s Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee also met Thursday and discussed similar bills.

The most recent budget cycle reduced the WBC’s biennial budget from $54.6 million to $15 million. Wyoming Freedom Caucus members were among the most vocal supporters of the cuts and characterized the WBC as an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

Freedom Caucus members’ main criticism was that the entity distorts free-market competition by picking winners and losers. 

Several members of the far-right coalition in the state House of Representatives — including some on the JAC — lost their reelection bids last week and won’t be in the Legislature when the 2027 general session begins Jan. 12.

Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, the JAC’s co-chair, began Thursday’s meeting by outlining his expectations.

“It is my intent with regard to the economic development proposed legislation not to vote on any of those bills today,” he said.

Program elimination

The first bill the committee discussed would eliminate 15 WBC programs, including the Broadband Funding Program, the Brownfield Revolving Loan Program, the Workforce, Housing and Infrastructure Program and the Kickstart Grant Program.

Recommendations for which programs should be eliminated come from lawmakers who assessed the programs’ utility and impact. WBC agreed with recommendations to eliminate some funds and disagreed concerning others such as the startup program.

Some programs overlap with current federal funding. The Broadband Funding Program was one example, which lawmakers argued made the fund redundant. WBC officials said the program attempted to fill gaps not addressed by the federal funding.

Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, a JAC member who lost his bid for reelection, took issue with WBC CEO Josh Dorrell citing a program’s use as a reason why it should not be eliminated.

“What I’m trying to establish is that just because a program is very popular, highly utilized, does not necessarily affect the fundamental truth of whether or not it’s just or right,” he said.

Betsy Hale, Cheyenne LEADS CEO, and Brad Enzi, CEO and president of the Laramie Chamber Business Alliance, presented a survey of their combined members’ assessments of programs proposed for elimination.

“The overall message is to retain tools that meet demonstrated community needs, reform those that are not working efficiently, and eliminate truly obsolete and unused programs,” Hale said.

She stressed the importance of educating people about the programs and raising awareness of their impact.

The committee requested a bill draft that includes two amendments, one of which would add the Wyoming Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program to the list of programs to be eliminated and another that would remove the Wyoming Partnership Challenge Loan Program.

A comparable bill was discussed in the Minerals Committee.

Some programs with unexpended and unobligated balances remaining on July 1, 2027, would revert those funds back to the state’s general fund.

Program amendments

The next bill the committee discussed concerned potential amendments to the Wyoming Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program, including the creation of legislative liaisons to oversee the program and its operations.

Under the proposed bill, if retained, the Wyoming Business Ready Community program would be limited to grant funding for planning and “hard infrastructure.” The definition of a hard infrastructure project is a project “for the purchase of construction, improvement or funding of land, a building, facility, infrastructure or other physical asset,” according to the bill. The committee requested a bill draft with two amendments: one adding trigger language if the program is repealed and another incorporating staff recommendations concerning the bill’s language.

If both the elimination bill and the amendment bill reach the Legislature, only one could be passed because the elimination bill would repeal the Wyoming Business Ready Community Program.

County Consensus Funding program

The final economic development bill concerned reinstating the County Consensus Funding Program, which last received an appropriation in 2014 and received an average of $35 million per year. However, funding varied widely, from $18 million to $191 million per biennium.

The fund is intended to support capital projects, major maintenance and infrastructure to ensure counties are prepared for business opportunities. To receive annual distribution, counties would have to reach agreement with a majority of the municipalities within the county on projects for which the funds would be used.

The requests would not have to go to the State Loan and Investment Board for a vote, as was previously required when the program was last in effect. The Office of State Land and Investments would administer the program.

Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, noted the distinction he sees between this program and the Business Ready Community Program.

“Infrastructure is what we’re trying to hone in on,” Haroldson said. “Because you can’t be business friendly or business ready if you can’t offer the infrastructure they need to put the sticks in the ground.”

Co-Chairman Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, focused on ensuring the program has continued funding without impacting other funds. He proposed using severance tax money as the funding source.

Bear, who also lost his reelection bid last week, wants counties to have the ability to carry over money from year to year if they are prioritizing a larger project that requires more funding than is available.

Beth Blackwell, grants and loans manager for the city of Newcastle, spoke in support of the program during public comment.

“I just want to say this is a great program, and it truly is the stepping stone for our smallest communities to get projects done,” she said.

The committee agreed to request an amended bill draft, striking language requiring OSLI to consult with the Wyoming Business Council and allowing funds to carry over from year to year.

A comparable bill was discussed in the Minerals Committee, this one with a proposed budget of $100 million. The JAC did not propose a budget for the program, deferring the discussion the following day. 

A joint meeting between the JAC and the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee concerning all five economic development bills was scheduled for Friday, August 28.

Salazar indicated these bills will be discussed in more detail during that meeting, as well as the JAC’s next meeting Oct. 19 and 20.