Legislative leaders discuss the future of Wyoming at annual forum 

The Wyoming Business Alliance (WBA) held the Annual Governor’s Business Forum at the University of Wyoming in Laramie on Nov. 12-14, where over 500 business leaders from around the state convened with the goal of learning and discussing strategies to continue upward movement for the state of Wyoming’s business community.

Renny MacKay, WBA and Wyoming Heritage Foundation president, led a panel discussion on Wyoming legislators’ perspective of 2025.

Joining MacKay on stage was Wyoming Senate President Ogden Driskill (R-01) and Wyoming State Reps. John Baer (R-31) and Trey Sherwood (D-14).

Driskill, a rancher in northeastern Wyoming, is known for his strong advocacy on issues such as natural resources, agriculture and rural development and is at the end of his term as Senate president but will serve in the legislature until 2026.

Baer is a former U.S. Naval officer, has worked in leadership roles his entire professional life and was elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 2020.

He has served on the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee and the House Revenue Committee and will likely be the next chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Sherwood is a nonprofit leader and economic developer with a deep desire to contribute to the well-being of her community and state.

She has served Albany County for the past four years and believes in making strategic investments in infrastructure, education systems and natural resources while supporting policies to preserve individual freedoms.

Panel discussion

“It’s always great to be here at the WBA Governor’s Business Forum, as it is a great place to get messages out between legislature and the leaders of the state,” Driskill stated in his opening remarks.

MacKay started the discussion off by asking the panel about the state budget moving forward and any issues they see affecting the state.

Baer responded by mentioning some concerns the state is facing and the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee, which could see some major turnover with the new legislature.

Baer said, “The state has some real challenges coming up, citing the recent order to breach the LaPrele Dam and the need to replenish the state’s depleted wildfire funds while focusing on returning taxpayer money to Wyomingites.”

He continued, “We need to think outside of the box over the next couple of years and think about the people we are serving.”

Sherwood added, “I am focused on moving forward on the housing challenges we are experiencing and how this influences our workforce.”

The questions continue

MacKay rerouted the question to Driskill and asked what his thoughts were on the state’s budget.

“Clearly we have some challenges coming up,” he stated. “We have to address the funds for fire prevention after a year of large fires sweeping over Wyoming and answer voters’ questions they have given us on how we are going to return funds back to the taxpayer.”

However, Driskill believes the best use of state funds isn’t giving it back to taxpayers, but investing it for the future so Wyoming’s next generations can prosper, which has generally been the approach of the legislature over the last few decades.

Driskill, who will not be returning to the legislature next year, said there’s a circulating narrative out there about the state’s financial standing that “the sky is falling.”

“Folks, the sky’s not falling,” Driskill said. “Wyoming has got more money in savings per capita than any state in the nation, and I am not worried about the next three to eight years as far as Wyoming’s economy is concerned, but how do we position ourselves in the future?”

Driskill encouraged everyone to speak to their local representatives and senators and tell them what they would like to see.

“We need to make sure policies support the future of Wyoming and the generations to come, not just today,” he added.

Baer alluded to seeing government spending limited to constitutionally mandated items and what the legislature feels is most needed to help residents, while Sherwood took a different approach by seeing the state’s budget as a reflection of the legislature’s shared values.

Ending the discussion

Wyoming’s property taxes were brought up during the panel discussion and responses reflected different views.

“The voters are clearly demanding property tax relief,” Baer stated. “We have several ideas to vet, but we could make budget cuts. Taxpayers have already given the state a generous amount of money over the last few years due to rising property taxes, and now it’s time to give a little bit of relief.”

Driskill agreed rising property taxes is an issue for Wyoming communities but doesn’t believe tax cuts should be paid for by taking money out of the general fund.

He added. “I don’t want ultra-wealthy residents who only live in Wyoming for a small portion of the year to receive these same cuts. They need to pay a fairly high rate on their $30 million homes. I want relief to go where it needs to go.”

However, Baer is a proponent of tax cuts across the board, not just for residential taxes, but for other sectors like agriculture and minerals which would be paid for by making governmental cuts in other areas.

Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.