LARAMIE (WNE) — In its last substantive vote of the week, the Wyoming House voted Friday afternoon to budget $50 million of state funds for construction projects at the University of Wyoming.
That vote came as the state’s capital construction bill passed the Senate on Monday and included only $500,000 for UW construction.
If the $50 million for UW makes it through three readings in the House, the leaders from the two chambers will need to form a compromise next week before sending the bill to Gov. Mark Gordon.
Ahead of its current budget session, UW had asked the Legislature to provide half the funding for about $100 million worth of projects: A renovation of War Memorial Stadium’s west side stands, an expansion and renovation of the College of Law, and a replacement for Corbett Pool.
If the Legislature approves all requests, UW expects to get enough donations to hit the needed total of roughly $100 million.
The state’s capital construction bill, S.F. 119, originally included only $25 million for all projects and the House planned to double that before leaders from both chambers settled on a funding compromise somewhere between $25 million and $50 million.
However, the Senate opted to strip all funding for UW out of the bill and passed its own version Monday.
Instead of introducing the Senate bill, the House Appropriations Committee crafted a substitute bill Thursday morning.