By Hannah Shields
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — With just four days left of the session, 10 Wyoming lawmakers on a second joint conference committee voted to pass a budget for the 2025-26 biennium late Tuesday night.

The week got off to a rocky start after lawmakers failed to negotiate a compromise on a budget in the first joint conference committee (JCC) on Monday. Leaders in both chambers of the Wyoming Legislature appointed new members to form a second JCC, also known as a “free committee,” which didn’t waste time in resuming negotiations the following day.

Private discussions around the budget took place throughout most of Tuesday. Lawmakers took an hour recess during their scheduled conference that morning. 

Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, said Tuesday morning the newly appointed Senate JCC members needed time to meet before launching into negotiations, having only been appointed to the committee 12 hours earlier.

Committee members failed to re-appear for a 12:30 p.m. conference committee, but finally managed to start budget talks around 5:30 p.m. Lawmakers zoomed through the first 93 amendments within an hour and, after a brief recess, made it through the final 40 amendments by 7:30 p.m., then voted to approved the newly negotiated budget.

“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done,” Nethercott told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle after the budget was passed by the conference committee. “We’re very mindful of the Senate’s position and the House’s position and tried to reach a very thoughtful compromise on both of those positions.”

Nethercott described the relationship of committee members as “positive and productive,” adding this was clearly demonstrated during the meeting that night. She added that the primary concern of her fellow lawmakers on the west side of the Capitol was an overall reduction in spending.

The appropriations brought to the table were carefully measured to reflect that conservative mindset, Nethercott said.

“We’re moving in the right direction, and a significant accomplishment was done today,” Nethercott told the WTE. “I know we have a lot of heavy lifting to convince our colleagues that this is the right result.”

Now that a budget bill has finally passed through a conference committee, Legislative Service Office staff will need 36 to 48 hours to comb through the final product and look for any technical errors in budget amendments. Don Richards, budget and fiscal manager with the LSO, told lawmakers the earliest a budget report will be ready for a chamber vote is Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

“We also work at your pleasure,” Nethercott said, adding lawmakers aimed to “power through” negotiations so staff had ample time to review the budget.

Should either chamber fail to pass the budget on the floor, Nethercott told the WTE the next steps will be up to legislative leaders. They can either move to use the extra three days left over from last year’s general session to afford more time to negotiate or decide to call a special session.

All amendments, revisions and deletions to the budget are solely in the hands of free committee members at this point.