Gov. Gordon provides overview of Wyoming Legislative session
On March 12, Gov. Mark Gordon held a press conference with members of the media to share his thoughts on the recent Wyoming legislative session.
During the press conference, Gordon offered insight and expressed some reservations.
The Wyoming Legislative Service Office reports 178 bills were passed in 2025, which is similar to the number of bills passed in 2021. Approximately 500 bills were discussed.
“I was also disappointed less than 50 percent of the committee bills brought in this year’s session passed into law and 13 were killed immediately without ever being heard,” Gordon stated.
Gordon went on to note, he believes a lot of time during the session was spent on issues that were important, but maybe not as essential to running the state government as he hoped.
He specifically referred to national issues which seemed to take on the highest priority in this year’s session.
“It’s a little bit sad to me so much of the national agenda really overwhelms some of the necessary work of the legislature,” he stated. “There was a certain amount of absolutism I think got in the way of the best outcomes for Wyoming people.”
Wildfires
Gordon expressed his support for Senate File (SF) 0152, Wildfire management-amendments, praising the bill for strengthening Wyoming’s ability to fight wildfires and ensuring funding is available for wildfire suppression efforts in 2025.
“I began the session with four important topics, one being the devastation of the fires last year and figuring out how to bring a program together to mitigate future wildfires,” he stated.
Last year, over 850,000 acres in Wyoming burned, with 70 percent of affected land being privately owned or managed by the state.
Gordon mentioned, “I am a little disappointed this got off track as individuals were not thinking about recovery. It took a while to figure it out.”
The governor’s supplemental budget request of $692 million included $140 million designated for restoring acres burned in 2024 and preparing for potential devastating fires in the future.
He expressed disappointment over the budget’s lack of approval and voiced concerns about the impact Wyoming would face with another severe fire year.
On March 11, the governor approved SF0152 which provides $49 million in grants from the state’s general fund to pay for restoring grasses and preventing noxious weeds as a result of land destroyed by last year’s wildfires.
The bill includes $20 million to replenish the emergency fire suppression account, repays $20 million borrowed from the Legislative Stabilization and Reserve Account in 2024 for fire-related activities, appropriates $1.2 million for disaster contingencies within the Office of Homeland Security and replenishes $1 million in governor’s contingency funds.
Energy
Gordon specifically line-item vetoed funding for a loan program narrower than one funded through SF0195, Small business emergency bridge loan program.
According to the governor, the loan program added to SF0152 robbed funding from the Energy Matching Funds intended to support Wyoming’s core energy industries.
“Energy Matching Funds have proven valuable in supporting investment in transformative Wyoming energy projects, 88 percent of which have benefitted our fossil fuel and mining industries,” Gordon reiterated. “They remind private industries our state is committed to energy production and innovation.”
Energy matching funds support programs designed to provide matching money for private or federal projects related to carbon capture, coal refineries, hydrogen production and wind and solar energy, to name a few.
“Carbon is an incredibly important building block and can put Wyoming out in the lead,” he stated. “I’m really disappointed we lost our way on being supportive of our energy industry. I think it’s incredibly unfortunate.”
Other topics
During the legislative session, another bill approved a 25 percent property tax cut on assessed value up to $1 million across the state with no backfill from the state government.
Gordon addressed the bill with concern, stating, “I am concerned with how localities will deal with the loss in funding, but it is good to not have communities relying on the state for support.”
He added, “Backfill makes you much more dependent on the state, and as we’re seeing now with what’s going on at the federal level, this dependence can be very problematic for local communities over time. I’m hoping the legislature has a moment to think a bit about what their role is relative to local government.”
Another legislative concern Gordon discussed was bills impacting gaming.
“My concern about the gaming industry is it has exploded, and I am hearing concerns from many constituents about it,” he said.
However, all of those bills failed and Gordon believes this was another area where the legislature missed the mark during the session. He hopes it can be looked at in the interim.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
