The Wyoming Legislature overrode four of Gov. Mark Gordon's 25 line-item vetoes to the budget Friday. The House failed by one vote to win an override that would have defunded the Business Ready Communities program.
The Wyoming Senate voted to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s line-item vetoes of specific budget provisions in seven places Friday.
The House of Representatives successfully overrode four of those seven, but failed to summon a two-thirds majority on the other three.
That means that the budget no longer hinges $10 million of the University of Wyoming’s $40 million block grant on UW crafting a road map to $5 million in savings by Dec. 1.
The state House of Representatives failed to override that veto in a 34-26 vote with one lawmaker excused and one marked absent. That’s eight aye votes shy of the two-thirds majority the House needed to put that road map requirement back into UW’s budget.
Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, has been marked excused throughout nearly the entire session due to what he’s described over multiple public statements as a severe back injury.
Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, was marked “absent.” He did not immediately return a text message request for comment.
“I think he was sick,” said Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, in a text message confirming Singh’s absence.
The House also failed to override a veto regarding the Wyoming Business Council’s $55 million Business Ready Communities program.
The Legislature had sought to send that program’s money into the state’s checking account, defunding it.
Gordon vetoed that provision.
The override effort failed by one vote: 41-19 with one excused and one absent – leaving the program intact.
Still Auditing The High-Bay, Fewer Strings Attached
Gordon had vetoed a provision requiring UW to hire a consultant who would work with the Legislature’s Management Council, to conduct an audit of the High-Bay facility’s innovative research program, but he kept intact the part of that footnote requiring an audit by a qualified management consultant.
Gordon also vetoed language saying UW can’t use the $100,000 appropriated for that audit in its standard budget or for any other purpose.
Gordon’s veto message lists guidance for the audit, saying he hopes UW uses that guidance to supply the information the Legislature seeks, “in a pragmatic and cost effective manner.”
He said he vetoed the language about the money so that UW could reapply any unused balance of the audit stipend.
The House failed to override that veto in a 34-26 vote.
What The Senate Sent Us
Still, the Legislature advanced four veto overrides.
House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, lamented that the Senate only advanced seven overrides.
The two chambers alternate every two years, on who gets first option to advance veto overrides.
The second-place chamber in that arrangement can only override what the first chamber already chose and voted to override.
“There were many more that were offered, and vetoed by our governor,” Neiman said. “But these seven were the ones that were chose by the body to the west of us, and they established this line.”
Neiman urged the House “to stand for what is our responsibility in our body – in the house – to continue to hold our position and to support our Senate counterparts.”
The Senate, for its part, had approved all seven of the overrides it considered, without debate.
It did not attempt to override Gordon’s veto of earlier legislative language, that had banned the use of state money for collegiate student-athlete endorsements or compensation.
Where The Legislature Won
Gordon had vetoed language that let the Legislature determine how many employees the executive branch is authorized to hire.
The Legislature overrode that with ease.
“The Legislature has authorized the number of employees since 1971,” said House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette. He called it a policy issue and a legal question.
Gordon, conversely, had called that footnote a breach of the separation of powers the Wyoming Constitution requires.
This Person’s Salary
The Legislature asked that the director of Wyoming’s Charter School Authorizing Board make the same salary as other, similar state executives in the Department of Education.
That would become effective when the position falls vacant.
Goron vetoed that language, saying it violates the separation of powers. The Legislature overrode him.
Noting it does so frequently, the Legislature overrode Gordon’s attempt to restore flexibility in transferring personal services money into a contract services category.
Gordon vetoed language barring salary increases for executive branch state positions and judicial branch positions without legislative authorization.
The Legislature overrode that veto.
Get Back Here
Neiman concluded the evening by reading aloud from legislative rules, and urged House members to return next Wednesday for veto overrides on standalone bills.
No House member can be absent except in case of sickness, with permission of the speaker, or by a majority vote of the House, Neiman related.
“I’m not going to give you a hard time ladies and gentlemen but we signed up for this job,” he said. “And we have a responsibility to be here on Wednesday.
Neiman said he’d been hearing chatter of representatives who said they weren’t going to vote for any overrides, and they’d rather stay home.
“Well here’s the next part of this,” he continued, reopening the rule book. “And I do not want to do this but I’m going to read you this so that you all understand the gravity of what we’re dealing with here, when it comes to our legislation, our responsibility to the people we represents.”
He read from a section called “call of the House.”
It says five members can demand that absent members be taken into custody until the proceedings at hand are completed.
“I will call a call of the House if I don’t have enough members here to do business on Wednesday and complete our job,” said Neiman.
Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, said his youngest daughter is to be married next week.
“I will not be here Wednesday,” he said.
Neiman granted Harshman permission to be absent Wednesday.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
