Wyoming House debates supplemental budget: search‑and‑rescue, workforce training, property maintenance and other amendments draw votes

The Wyoming House considered numerous second‑reading amendments to House Bill 1, the supplemental appropriations bill, on Tuesday. Lawmakers debated proposals ranging from dedicated tourism dollars for search‑and‑rescue reimbursements to restoring one‑time workforce training funding, and from adding facility janitorial and trades staff to a request to fund removal and preservation of a historic survey‑party tree inscription.

Key votes and outcomes - Search‑and‑rescue funding (second‑reading amendment 1, moved by Rep. Connolly). The amendment would have directed tourism‑account dollars to the statewide search‑and‑rescue council to bolster a fund that the sponsors said risks depletion after high‑cost missions. Proponents argued volunteers and counties increasingly face high helicopter and support costs; opponents said the item was not on the supplemental request. Result: failed on roll call, 22 aye, 38 no, 2 excused.

- Wyoming Innovation Partnership (second‑reading amendment 2, moved by Rep. Chestyck). The amendment would have restored $5 million the sponsor said would complete the last phase of a workforce partnership. Opponents said the Legislature previously funded a study to evaluate program outcomes and advised waiting for that study. Result: failed on roll call, 15 aye, 46 no, 1 excused.

- Water‑rights/adjudication flexibility (second‑reading amendment 3, moved by Rep. Larson JT). The amendment sought removal of a restrictive footnote to permit appropriation funds to be used for data acquisition, modeling and scientific support related to interstate water‑rights adjudication. The amendment was debated vigorously; the chair initially announced adoption but a subsequent division vote recorded that the amendment was not adopted, 27 aye, 32 no.

- Technology positions and staffing for business filings (second‑reading amendment 5, moved by Rep. Lucas). The House adopted two permanent FTEs intended to support the state business‑filings office; sponsors argued the office’s filing volume and revenues justify the staff. Result: adopted on roll call, 47 aye, 14 no, 1 excused.

- Property maintenance/janitorial and trades staff for newly purchased state properties (second‑reading amendment 6, moved by Rep. Yan). The amendment would have added staff to maintain recently acquired state buildings (Cheyenne and Riverton). Opponents said agencies can use contracts; proponents said the new square footage requires dedicated staff. Result: failed on roll call, 19 aye, 42 no, 1 excused.

- Attorney general natural‑resources attorneys (second‑reading amendment 7, moved by Rep. Larson Lloyd). The amendment would have added two AG office attorneys to handle federal natural‑resources litigation and FINERPA responsibilities. Supporters said in‑house counsel is necessary to evaluate and prepare cases; opponents urged other funding paths. Result: failed on roll call, 18 aye, 43 no, 1 excused.

- Shoshone Forest survey‑party inscription retrieval (second‑reading amendment 8, moved by Rep. Winter). The House approved a $35,000 appropriation to retrieve, document and curate an 1893 Yellowstone Forest survey party tree inscription located deep in the Shoshone National Forest; supporters described fire and beetle risk and urged preservation. Result: adopted on roll call, 40 aye, 21 no, 1 excused.

Why it matters: House Bill 1 is the vehicle for supplemental appropriations; votes on individual amendments show what additional projects or priorities lawmakers are willing to fund mid‑session. Several high‑profile amendments — including ones aimed at workforce training and water‑rights litigation — drew extensive debate and recorded roll calls.

Speakers and positions (selected) - Rep. Connolly (sponsor of amendment 1): described search‑and‑rescue costs, cited 25 missions this season with 17 involving nonresidents, and asked tourism dollars be used because many missions involve visitors. - Rep. Schmidt: supported the search‑and‑rescue amendment, cited a costly Wind River Mountains search that cost over $300,000. - Rep. Sherwood: opposed using the tourism fund for search‑and‑rescue without more data and urged further work with sheriffs and search‑and‑rescue organizations. - Rep. Chestyck and Rep. Larson JT: argued for workforce and water‑rights funding respectively; both measures failed. - Rep. Lucas (mover of amendment 5): argued two FTEs for the business filings division would pay for themselves by supporting revenue generation and customer service; amendment passed.

Implementation notes: Where petitions were adopted the supplemental bill will be adjusted; for measures that failed the main supplemental bill remained without those items. Several items debated were one‑time appropriations and others would create permanent FTEs if adopted.

Ending: The House completed a series of recorded roll calls on HB1 second‑reading amendments; several targeted items failed while selected operational and historic preservation requests were added. The supplemental bill remained under the House’s control for further action later in the session.