Wyoming lawmakers override four of Gov. Gordon’s budget vetoes

Wyoming lawmakers voted Friday night to override four of Gov. Mark Gordon’s line-item vetoes of the budget bill, all relating to state employees and their salaries.

In his roughly two dozen vetoes of the state’s next two-year spending plan, Gordon largely focused on separation of powers, arguing that the Legislature was overstepping by attempting to decide “how many positions, the level of individual pay, or the classification of specific employees of the executive branch.”

Lawmakers pushed back Friday, starting in the Senate, where such motions were required to originate this year. The Senate voted to override seven of Gordon’s vetoes, but the House ultimately approved four of them—the threshold requiring two-thirds of elected members in both chambers.

Among the successful overrides was language allowing the Legislature to specify the “number of employees” in agencies, a provision Gordon argued belonged to the executive branch. Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, countered that the Legislature has authorized employee numbers since 1971. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, added that such language has been “a very effective way for us to control the total size of state government.”

Lawmakers also restored language reclassifying the Wyoming Charter School Authorization Board’s executive director position. Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, said the position’s salary was “considerably more” than comparable executive-level roles and “caused a lot of problems.”

The other two overrides related to salary increases: one limiting the executive branch’s ability to move funds around in the payroll section, and another prohibiting salary increases using savings from vacancies.

The House rejected three Senate-approved overrides, including one that would have overturned Gordon’s decision to strike language requiring the University of Wyoming to identify $5 million in cost savings.

Lawmakers will convene Wednesday for the final day of the session, where they’ll have an opportunity to override any additional vetoes.