House committee backs legislative budget that adds staff and modeling software

The Committee of the Whole on the Wyoming House floor recommended passage of Senate File 2, the legislative budget bill, after a floor explanation and brief debate.

Chairman Baer, explaining the bill, said: “This is the FEED bill.” He told members the measure funds per diem and pay for legislators, interim committees and select committees, and includes $492,100 for economic modeling software that can produce county-level fiscal modeling. Baer said the bill’s total is “just over 26 and a half million,” an increase of about 7 percent from the previous budget.

Members questioned specific line items. Representative Williams urged colleagues to consider fairness to state employees in parallel pay discussions, and Representative Brown asked whether the salary increase represented pay raises or additional positions. Speaker Pro Tem answered that the change reflects both targeted increases and some new positions to retain experienced staff. Baer and other proponents said the modeling software would be used to quantify rule impacts and improve fiscal notes.

The body voted to report the bill favorably from Committee of the Whole; the motion passed on the floor.

What happens next: The bill will move through the floor process and, if approved, become part of the legislature’s biennial appropriation package. The fiscal-office functions Baer described will be implemented by the Legislative Service Office and related administrative units.