CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The Latest on a dispute between Wyoming’s governor and state lawmakers over budget vetoes (all times local):
___
4:25 p.m.
The Wyoming House has overridden several state budget item vetoes by Gov. Mark Gordon.
The House quickly overrode four of the 14 vetoes in the state supplemental budget Wednesday. Representatives then recessed amid discussion over whether to bundle the rest of the veto overrides into a single vote.
Overriding a governor’s veto requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn for the year Wednesday but House Speaker Steve Harshman has hinted lawmakers may adjourn and come back Monday to address unfinished business.
Gordon says he vetoed the budget items because they violate separation of powers between the Legislature and executive branch. Gordon says the measures should have been handled as stand-alone legislation.
The bill makes adjustments to Wyoming’s biennial budget approved in 2018.
___
1:10 p.m.:
The speaker of the Wyoming House is hinting that state lawmakers may adjourn but come back in session Monday to vote on overriding budget vetoes by Gov. Mark Gordon.
The Legislature is tentatively scheduled to adjourn Wednesday. House Speaker Steve Harshman tells fellow lawmakers adjourning and reconvening Monday is a “very good possibility.”
As of midday, legislators hadn’t taken up any of the 14 vetoes in a supplemental budget bill. The vetoes involve separation of powers between the Legislature and executive branch.
Gordon told Harshman in a veto message that certain portions of Wyoming’s supplemental budget bill should have been handled as stand-alone legislation.
The bill makes adjustments to Wyoming’s biennial budget approved in 2018.
The Wyoming Republican Party praised Gordon’s vetoes in a news release.
___
9:54 a.m.:
Wyoming’s governor has vetoed several parts of a budget bill, setting up a tug of war with state lawmakers over separation of powers.
Legislators may try Wednesday to override at least some of the 14 line-item vetoes.
Gordon says in a letter to House Speaker Steve Harshman that several portions of the supplemental budget bill should have been separate legislation.
Examples include funding to market Wyoming agricultural products in Asia and funding for Wyoming communities through a grant program overseen by the executive branch.
Gordon is otherwise complimentary of the budget bill, telling Harshman it puts Wyoming on a “deft fiscal path” for the year ahead.
Wyoming budgets on a two-year cycle. Most budgeting occurs in even-numbered years, when the legislative session is devoted primarily to the state budget.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.