CHEYENNE – Today, the Wyoming Legislature concluded the 67th Budget Session after delivering a balanced, conservative budget to Governor Gordon. The agreement was ultimately approved after a series of budget versions were developed.

The final budget spends $209 million less than the Governor proposed in November. The budget fully funds nursing homes, preschool for developmentally disabled children, and Wyoming home services for senior centers. Further, the bill invests in mental health and funds energy projects. Additionally, and importantly, the final budget restored more than $300 million for the construction of new schools. The Legislature has also allocated $253 million for property tax cuts and refunds.

“Our primary job in the budget session is to pass a constitutional budget,” said Speaker of the House Albert Sommers. “I am proud of the work we did. This budget takes the long view, ensuring we meet community and state priorities while delivering on conservative, sound fiscal policy. That includes investments in suicide prevention, increased support of law enforcement families, property tax relief and funding for schools. It’s a budget our children and grandchildren will benefit from in the years ahead.”

“This is a hard-fought compromise,” said Senate President Ogden Driskill. “We want Wyoming to continue to be a place where families live, work and thrive. A Wyoming where industry is growing and creating jobs and those jobs are plentiful and high paying. We want communities that afford its residents the lowest cost of living possible,” Driskill added. “We want Wyoming to be a place where our freedoms are valued above all else. You will see these priorities fought for and delivered on in this budget.”

Finally, the budget includes a provision that would only allow the sale of the Kelly Parcel if the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Resource Management Plan (RMP) outcome does not include certain elements in the federal agency’s preferred option, alternative B.

“In tying the sale of the Kelly Parcel to Bureau of Land Management actions, we are telling the federal government that it needs a balanced approach to managing federal lands,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Clark Stith. “If they want us to play nice with them in northwest Wyoming, they need to play nice with us in southwest Wyoming.”