Senate advances supplemental budget with cuts, new litigation account and targeted restorations

The Wyoming Senate spent much of its Jan. 31, 2025 session on Senate File 1, the supplemental budget, discussing and voting to advance the Joint Appropriations Committee's (JAC) package of changes that reduce some of the governor's recommendations, restore select programs and create a new natural resource litigation account. Senator Salazar, chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee, told colleagues: "All amendments are due to the LSO legal staff by the end of committee of the whole on Monday for second reading."

Why it matters: The supplemental budget makes targeted funding changes across state government ahead of the 2025-26 fiscal year. The package trims several one-time governor requests, reallocates or restores money for programs such as school finance, wildfire response and university medical training, and creates or moves accounts that will govern how certain funds may be used. Those decisions affect schools, universities, natural‑resource litigation funding and agency hiring across the state.

Senate File 1 explained and key changes

Senator Driscoll, speaking in committee of the whole as members reviewed agency sections, summarized JAC's approach to agency "flex" authority and line‑item choices, saying, "These agencies are the DEQ, Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Corrections, DOC, and the Department of Health." JAC repeatedly restricted broad "super‑flex" transfer authority and restored what members described as "mini‑flex" limits to keep agencies from moving funds between payroll (100 series) and other spending lines without legislative notice.

On specific line items, committee members described these notable actions taken by JAC and reported…