“Responsibility and responsiveness will be the theme of this budget session,” Speaker of the House Roy Cohee announced at the end of the House Republican Caucus on Sunday. “While the State of Wyoming has ample wealth, we have an obligation to future generations. Will they look back and say they spent it all, or will they look back and say our predecessors planned wisely.?”
“The Caucus is determined to adopt a balanced approach to spending and savings which addresses our present needs, invest in needed infrastructure ands save future generations,” Cohee continued. “Major issues outside the budget to be considered this session include local government finance, property tax relief and carbon sequestration.”
According to Cohee, local government financing is an important issue for the Republican caucus.
“In years past, local governments have asked for a steady reliable income stream upon which to plan.” Cohee said, “This year, we have a funding model that may reasonably accomplish what our local governments desire.  While we are subject to the ups and downs of the minerals industry, we must be responsive to the needs of our cities, towns and counties.  With some legislative effort, we should be able to craft a legislative model which meets the needs of our governmental partners.”
Majority Floor Leader, Colin Simpson, believes the Republican Caucus is focused on a responsible two year budget that will allow the state to continue to serve the people of Wyoming at a high level and must save for the future as well.
“Property tax relief is an issue for many in this state. The legislature will be called upon to choose between broad based relief, targeted relief, or no relief at all,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Tom Lubnau, II.  “The tax relief proposals are going to have a significant effect on funding streams at all levels of government.  While no one wants to pay taxes, we all demand services from government. We need to craft a responsible, fair and balanced tax structure.”
Carbon Sequestration, a process in which carbon dioxide is captured power plants, and injected in the ground, will also be a topic of discussion this session. According to legislators, with the demand for green energy technologies, carbon sequestration will provide a regulatory framework to allow Wyoming coal to be used to provide green energy the world.
“We have had the benefit of abundant wealth the last three or four years,” Cohee said.  “Now the budget has grown to the point where there is less money available for legislative initiative.  We are going to have to prioritize our expenditures in a way that it is both responsible and responsive to the taxpayers of Wyoming.”