Governor opens session with hopeful speech

Governor Mark Gordon struck an optimistic note in his State of the State speech on Monday, delivered as the Wyoming State Legislature gathered to open its 2022 session.

Touching on a range of topics from economic resilience to the future of education, Gordon was defiant in the face of the challenges Wyoming has faced over the last couple of years and focused on growth towards a better future.

“Together, we’ve emerged stronger, more engaged and better equipped to tackle new challenges and seize fresh opportunities,” he began.

Gordon shared his hope we are seeing the first rays of hope that the pandemic is finally coming to an end and the “hard pull” of the last couple of years will soon be over.

“We’re strong because of our character, resilient because of our nature and optimistic because Wyoming people are doers – we respect folk who get things done, not naysayers or quitters,” he said.

Budget Matters

The governor spoke to several items on his proposed biennial budget, which he called, “Well-planned, transparent and forward-looking – appropriately, it’s also a frugal one.”

The uptick in revenues is encouraging, he said, “But even these have come in the teeth of the highest inflation rate we’ve seen in 40 years.” Gordon said his budget has two goals: to ensure government continues to function effectively while making sure, “Wyoming continues to live within her means.”

This state has not seen the end of the “assault” on its core industries from the current administration, he said, so his focus must remain on the “long-term fiscal viability of Wyoming and our ability to fight back.” For this reason, he said, he has proposed placing $400 million in savings and several other actions to deal with inflation.

Additionally, he said, “My top priority is a market adjustment for state employees. I regard this as critical to the functioning of our state enterprise.” From troopers to social workers to plow drivers, the state is struggling to staff the agencies that provide services people need.

According to the governor, 90% of state employees are earning less than their peers did five years ago, and 30% need a second job to make ends meet. This can’t be ignored, he said.

With the 50th anniversary of Vietnam this year, Gordon shared a desire to improve services for veterans.

“I ask you to consider using American Rescue Plan dollars to do more to fight against suicide,” he said. “My budget also opens and staffs a new veterans’ skilled nursing facility in Buffalo.”

The ongoing drought has raised the issue of preserving water rights in the state, said the governor, and the potential impacts on communities and agricultural producers.

“Water in Wyoming is sacred,” he said. His proposed budget thus contains additional resources for the state engineer and attorney general to protect water rights.

Gordon called tourism in Wyoming “a bright spot”, saying, “People love Wyoming and we need more camping spots, boat ramps and trails so we can continue to provide more access to our great outdoors.”

Wyoming people love their outdoors, he said, and now is the time to make a one-time investment in Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust that he said would “bring returns many times over.”

Future Goals

During his speech, Gordon described a feeling of “undeniable momentum” in Wyoming, which he attributed to the rebound of businesses following the pandemic and the fall of unemployment to its lowest levels since 2001. However, Gordon described the recent actions of the federal government regarding public lands as “deeply flawed” and said they had clearly missed the mark.

“Instead, they hit Wyoming squarely in the breadbasket,” he said.

Stopping the exploration and production of federal coal, oil and gas means that Wyoming bears a disproportionate burden of reduced royalties, severance taxes and economic benefit, Gordon said.

“And for what? These actions won’t reduce global warming, won’t benefit consumers. Instead, they have caused inflation to soar,” he said.

He called for President Joe Biden to “tear up” his energy policy, which he said saw the U.S. import more Russian oil last year while limiting Wyoming production.

“Let Wyoming power our country,” he said. We have it all in Wyoming, he said: fossil fuels, wind, solar and nuclear energy and the ability to store over 50 years of our nation’s carbon emissions.

“Innovation, not regulation, is our way forward to give our nation the energy it requires and simultaneously solve the world’s climate concerns,” he said, touting an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.

A “plethora” of opportunities are coming Wyoming’s way, said the governor, including advanced nuclear power, carbon capture utilization and sequestration and bio-energy, “As well as better, cleaner ways to burn and use our coal, as well as other fossil fuels.” We must seize these, he said, by promoting sensible development and fighting back against regulation.

The governor’s budget includes a request for the ability to access $100 million, he said, to use as matching funds for large-scale energy projects.

Gordon also said he remains committed to establishing transmission lines to energy consumer states.

“The pandemic has revealed that the demands on Wyoming’s healthcare system and the accompanying costs require a focused approach,” continued Gordon.

For this reason, the governor said he established a health task force as a way for stakeholders to improve accessibility and affordability. The group began by looking at Wyoming’s emergency medical system for ways to standardize emergency medicine dispatch and will continue its work in 2022.

One of the top priorities for the state must be education, Gordon said, stating that Wyoming had more schools open for teaching in-person than any other school system in the country during the pandemic. Wyoming’s future depends on its education system, he said, which is why he created the Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education Advisory Group (RIDE) to make recommendations to elevate it.

“Data shows what we’ve all known for far too long: our kids are leaving,” he said. It’s a catch-22, he said, because kids leave when they don’t see opportunities for long-term careers, but opportunities don’t exist when businesses hesitate to relocate or expand due to uncertainty over the long-term workforce.

Gordon said the state’s focus on economic diversification has broken this catch-22 and “already new enterprises are coming.” WIP, the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, will be looking at educational programs and how these can assist in advancing Wyoming and diversifying the economy.

“In these times, if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” he said. “Wyoming is actually bursting with opportunities across all of our sectors. We want our education system to be part of the way we grow.”