Wyoming lawmakers agree to budget, send it to governor

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers have agreed to a state budget that Gov. Mark Gordon will consider starting Monday.

A deal Friday between the House and Senate ends a budgeting process that lawmakers began in December and have continued through a legislative session that began Feb. 10.

Gordon will have until the end of Thursday, the last day of the legislative session, to veto any parts of the budget bill, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.

Despite reaching agreement, state representatives and senators both expressed disappointment the budget lacked cuts amid declining revenue from the coal, oil and natural gas industries.

“We made some progress tonight but we still have a long way to go,” Sen. Eli Bebout, a Riverton Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Friday.

The two chambers disagreed on a dozen areas in recent days including $2.5 million in matching funds for the University of Wyoming law school and a 1.5% reduction in targeted state spending.

Lawmakers also disagreed whether to end health insurance coverage for currently unfilled positions in the state’s education system and over a cost adjustment for K-12 education.