Sen. Cooper believes budget should be focus number one

Reflecting on the first week of the legislative session, Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, said all the bills on the Senate side have been introduced and that the most critical ones made it through the process.

Cooper noted that he, himself, put forth a limited number of bills because this is a budget year. The budget should be the focus of this session. 

The Senate reviewed its budget at the end of the first week. It will come up for amendments and a vote on Feb. 17. It will then be put forward. The Senate is waiting for the House budget to review. He anticipates that the House budget recommendations will be very different than the Senate’s.

EDUCATION RECALIBRATION 

The Senate File on School Finance Recalibration should come before the Senate the week of Feb. 16. SF 81 reads in part “AN ACT relating to K-12 public school finance; implementing the 2025 cost of education study as modified by the legislature; molding the education resource block grant.”

Cooper explained there had been an agreement between the House and Senate leadership that the House would bring the bill forward, work it and then send it to the Senate. “The House failed to do their part, so we (Senate) brought the bill out. There was very strong support to get the bill introduced. We did get the bill introduced. It got assigned to the Education Committee. It will be in front of that committee on Monday morning (Feb. 16).” 

The bill is the same as the one that failed introduction in the House (HB 110) 

“It does some things that I struggle with supporting. In fact, I won’t be able to support it as it sits.” One of the issues for Cooper is the insurance provision. It forces the school to use the State of Wyoming’s insurance. 

He continued that the bill requires a minimum number of teachers. Many of the smaller schools don’t meet that minimum. “Some by four or five teachers. We have an amendment to address that. I’ve been talking to the Education Committee on what I would like to do on this issue.” There is a compromise agreement on insurance. It isn’t exactly what Cooper had asked for but it will provide some flexibility for a year. 

“One of the big pushbacks is that this bill takes away a lot of local control. They don’t get a block grant. There is money specifically for teachers, salary/benefits for superintendents are limited and tied to teacher’s salaries. Some superintendents don’t like that. In our districts it is not an issue. Our superintendents are not pushing back.” 

He added that the increase for the teachers’ pay will be up to $70,500 roughly on an average. There is still room for the steps and lanes, so they may adjust up and down for experience/education. 

“The biggest issue to many of the school districts is that there is not a block grant. There are certain things that the funding can only be spent for. It takes local control away from the schools. I understand the district’s thought process on that.” He went on to say there have been abuses by some of the larger districts in the past. However, with the smaller districts across the Big Horn Basin, there is no extra money. They use their money as it was intended. He added that the needs in a school district like Meeteetese are very different that a district  like Cody or Powell. Telling every district what they can spend the money on may not meet the needs of each district. There needs to be flexibility, he said. That needs to be a block grant of some sorts. He is working with the chairman of the Education Committee on that. 

PUBLIC LAND USE 

Cooper said he is hearing from a lot of constituents about state public land use…to make sure public lands stay public lands. Senate Joint Resolution 9 reads “A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress recognize the protection of Wyoming’s freedom of access to public lands, to allow responsible development of resources, recreation, agriculture, hunting, fishing, trapping, and conservation under multipleuse frameworks, to protect local participation in land management decisions, and to keep public lands available to the people of Wyoming.” He said it passed easily through the Senate. He supported it strongly. “Keep public lands public.” 

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING 

The Joint Appropriations Committee voted to cut $40 million from the University of Wyoming. In addition to that cut, they also voted to defund Wyoming Public Media, the school’s family medicine residency program, funding requests for UW Athletics as well as an energy related initiative, bringing the total cuts to approximately $61 million. 

The senator said this has been a hotly debated issue at the legislature.  

WYOMING BUSINESS COUNCIL 

Cooper addressed the bill to dismantle the Wyoming Business Council, SF 65 Wyoming business council-repeal. It reads in part: “AN ACT relating to the administration of the government; repealing and terminating the Wyoming business council; repealing the Wyoming Economic Development Act and renumbering portions of the act; specifying requirements and conditions for the repeal and termination; transferring specified functions of the Wyoming business council to other state entities.” 

The bill failed introduction. Cooper said that on the floor he stated that the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) brought $74 million in economic development to the north end of the Big Horn Basin. “I stand by that. That is the number. One individual spoke saying the government has no business in private enterprise. There should be no public/private collaboration on economic development. My reply to that was to look from the Capitol steps down Capitol Avenue to see a monument to the biggest economic development project in the United States. That is the Transcontinental Railroad. Every community across southern Wyoming owes their existence to that railroad, to that economic development project. Without it, Wyoming might still be a part of the Dakotas.” He added he strongly supports the WBC. 

 DIRECT DISTRIBUTION 

The Senator believes that direct distribution needs to be codified and an inflationary factor built in. He noted that at a commissioner meeting with Big Horn County last month he said he would like to see the distribution at $175 million instead of the current $105 million. “I support what I said the other day. I would support a bigger number but if we must bring it back down to the $105 million to get it passed, I am for that.” 

VETERANS TAX EXEMPTION 

Cooper’s bill, SF 98-Eligiblitiy for Veteran property tax exemption-amendments-2, was introduced and referred to Revenue Committee.  The fiscal note on the bill reads “This bill expands the current veterans’ exemption from including only combat or disabled honorably discharged veterans to also include active-duty members of the armed services, non-combat veterans, active Wyoming guard members, and Wyoming guard veterans. Further, the bill decreases the time an applicant must be considered a resident in Wyoming to claim the exemption from three years to one year. This bill would apply to ad valorem tax assessed beginning January 1, 2026.” 

He noted there is a mirror bill on the House side (HB 68). It too has been introduced and referred to the Revenue Committee. He asked the chair of the Revenue Committee to let his bill lay as there is no reason to work on two bills that are identical.  

PRESCIPTIVE EASEMENTS 

FOR ELECTRICITY DELIVERY 

The other bill Copper sponsored is SF 99. It reads in part “AN ACT relating to property conveyances, and security transactions; providing legislative findings, providing definitions, providing an easement for electric transmission lines and distribution systems as specified; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.”  

 This bill was introduced by Cooper last year as well. They found a lot of holes in it. “We sent it back out to the REA’s, to the landowner group that was opposing it, to Farm Bureau and the Wyoming Stockholders Association. Those groups got together over the summer.” The bill was reworked and has received strong approval from each of the groups. It was assigned to the Judiciary Committee and should be up for consideration the week of Feb. 16. 

RAISES FOR STATE EMPLOYEES 

Governor Mark Gordon’s budget including a recommendation to give state employees raises. The raise would bring them from 2022 to 2024 market payroll levels. There has been talk among legislators to deny raises to all but Wyoming Highway Patrol officers and snowplow drivers. 

Senator Cooper’s position is that the state of Wyoming is understaffed and under paid across the board. He noted the same is true for county government. “The reason we have trouble hiring is we are paying an inadequate wage. We lose employees all the time to private sector because we can’t give them the wage they deserve.” 

He believes an increase is warranted even though the increase will not bring the wage up to 2026 levels. “Maybe we can be a couple of years behind instead of four or five years. 

OMNIBUS WATER BILL CONSTRUCTION 

Senate File 70 passed the committee as a whole on Monday, Feb 16. It reads in part “AN ACT relating to water development projects; authorizing construction of designated water projects; describing projects; specifying terms and conditions of funding for projects; providing grants; providing loans; providing appropriations; amending amounts and terms of appropriations for specified prior projects; transferring funds from water development account I to water development account II; transferring a project; requiring a study; requiring a report; and providing for an effective date. Senator Cooper noted that the funding for the Alkali Reservoir in Hyattville was continued by the Senate at the recommendation of the Select Water Committee. The funding is included in the omnibus water bill.

CHECK-GATE 

On Feb. 13, the entire Senate voted to formally condemn a GOP activist for handing out checks on the House Floor. Cooper said, “It is a sad day for Wyoming.”