A Senate committee voted Monday to advance legislation that would freeze most operations of the Wyoming Business Council while lawmakers and stakeholders work to restructure the embattled agency. The 4-1 vote in the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee moves Senate File 125 forward, setting up a potential floor debate as the budget session enters its final weeks.
The bill represents one of several competing efforts to address the future of the state’s primary economic development agency, which has faced intense scrutiny—and a near-death experience—during this legislative session. Last month, the Joint Appropriations Committee proposed a budget amendment to defund the council entirely, accompanied by a standalone bill to remove it from state law. The dismantling bill failed introduction in the Senate on Feb. 9, but the budget amendment remains alive.
SF 125, sponsored by Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie, would impose a “hard freeze” on the council’s activities from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, preventing it from expanding existing programs or taking on new tasks. During that period, a task force would evaluate the agency’s mission and structure. A competing bill, Senate File 100, would have created “soft stops” instead—but the committee declined to act on it.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s chief of staff, Drew Perkins, told lawmakers the governor preferred the more flexible approach. Still, Perkins acknowledged that some council programs, like Business Ready Communities, have drawn criticism, while others, including Small Business Innovation Research and Wyoming Main Streets, “work very, very well.”
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, the lone no vote, successfully amended SF 125 to remove the task force provision, arguing the Legislature’s Minerals Committee could handle the review itself. “From a legislative standpoint, we can do this,” Rothfuss said. “This is actually our charge.”
The amendment would need to survive a full Senate vote. If it does not, the task force would include representatives from the governor’s office, the Legislature, and eight business sectors.
Wyoming Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell, who has watched his agency’s fate hang in the balance for weeks, struck an optimistic tone. “We’re pretty darn excited about the intention, the effort and the interest into diving deep into what the Business Council does,” he told the committee.
Local leaders rallied to the agency’s defense. Justin Farley of Advance Casper warned against dismantling programs that work. “We can’t afford to blow up all of that just for lack of understanding of it.” Brad Enzi of the Laramie Chamber Business Alliance urged lawmakers to establish clear metrics: “How are we going to know if we’re winning the game if we don’t even know how the score is being kept?”
The debate has exposed deep philosophical divides. Some lawmakers, like Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, argue economic development is best left to the private sector. “Our role isn’t to be a venture capitalist to private entities,” Ide said. Others, like Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, called defunding without deliberation “borderline criminal.”
The House has been wrestling with the same questions. During floor debate Friday, Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, said he built companies without state help and questioned whether entrepreneurs need a government agency. Rep. Lee Filer, R-Cheyenne, countered that Wyoming is losing a “generational talent war” to Colorado. “Wyoming is competing against 50 other states,” Filer said. “We’re competing for industry, jobs, technology, education—you name it.”
The budget amendment that would defund the council remains in play. Its fate, and the fate of SF 125, will unfold in the coming days as lawmakers race toward adjournment.
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