Wyoming

Wyoming

Budget Cycle
Biennial

Governor Submits Budget
November (3rd Monday)

Fiscal Year Begins
July 1

Governor Signs Budget 
March

Budget Links

FY2027-2028 (enacted)
FY2027-2028 (proposed)
FY2025-2026 (enacted)

FY2023-2024 supplemental (enacted)
FY2023-2024 (enacted)

FY2021-2022 supplemental (enacted)
FY2021-2022 (enacted)

Enacted Budget – Fiscal Years 2027- 2028

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed the state’s budget bill for fiscal 2027-2028 on March 5, after making a series of concise line-item technical vetoes. The biennial budget provides for total appropriations of $10.10 billion, including $3.46 billion in general funds, $2.19 billion in federal funds, and $2.27 billion in the Public School Foundation Program. The budget was based on the state’s January consensus revenue forecast, which projects total general fund net revenues of $4.35 billion for the fiscal 2027-2028 biennium, compared to $4.63 billion for the fiscal 2025-26 biennium. The forecast projects total general fund available balances of $192.8 million and a Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account of $1.3 billion.

In his veto letter, the governor thanked lawmakers for producing a budget aligned with his priorities of investing in families and communities, while strengthening Wyoming’s workforce. The governor highlighted provisions that ensure state employee pay is competitive with neighboring states and supports young families by providing an external cost adjustment for development preschools. Vetoed provisions in the budget included ones affecting programs such as economic development, the University of Wyoming, and reporting requirements that could hinder the ability of agencies to respond quickly to emerging needs. The governor also noted the need to preserve Wyoming’s constitutional separation of powers and prevent the state budget from becoming a vehicle for legislative overreach that micromanages executive branch functions, while expressing gratitude that the legislature ultimately rejected proposed sweeping cuts to an already lean budget. 

Proposed Budget - Fiscal Years 2027-2028

On November 17, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon submitted a biennial budget for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028. The budget calls for $11.13 billion in spending from all funds over the next biennium; this includes $3.35 billion in appropriations from the general fund (GF) and budget reserve account (BRA) and $2.59 billion from federal sources. The spending plan is based on ongoing general fund revenues estimated at $3.74 billion and the budget reserve account estimated at $238 million. Total GF/BRA resources are estimated at $4.14 billion. The budget holds $193 million (5 percent of general fund revenue) in the general fund Statutory Reserve. The Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA), the state’s rainy day fund, has a projected balance of $1.38 billion at the end of the next biennium. The budget calls for $2.7 billion in spending from the School Foundation Program, leaving an ending balance of $132 million, and $624 million from the Strategic Investment and Projects Account (SIPA), leaving an ending balance of $80 million. 


Proposed Supplemental Budget Highlights 

The governor’s budget proposal focuses on protecting Wyoming citizens and ensuring their future; supporting core industries, growing new ones, and expanding opportunities; and maintaining and improving effective and efficient government. The proposal includes the following recommendations: 

Education and Community Support

  • Recommends allocating funds to mitigate the reduction of federal funds to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 
  • Continues funding for the Cent$ible Nutrition program which provides education, budgeting, and life-skills to assist families in making healthy food choices and stretching food dollars.  
  • Encourages the legislature to support getting locally grown healthy foods into schools. 

Healthcare

  • Sustains the state’s provider network for critical services by recommending increases to: 
    • Assure care for people with developmental disabilities.
    • Increase home health reimbursements for high needs children.
    • Improve access to maternity services for new moms and families. 
    • Continue providing community-based resources that allow seniors and those with disabilities to stay in their homes longer. 

Public Safety and Disaster Response

  • Establishes two firefighting modules and expands the Smoke Buster Program to enhance the state’s ability to put out fires from the start. 
  • Requests completion of a program initiated last year to restore fire-damaged lands and resources, including controlling annual invasive grasses. 
  • Recommends allocating funds to the Department of Corrections to cover the out-of-state housing costs of out-of-state prisoners and address increased costs to ensure continued operations without a gap in services. 

Local Government and Fiscal Clarity

  • Provides first year funding for property tax refund programs. 
  • Recommends the legislature examine the entire tax structure to provide more clarity, fairness, equity, and integrity. 

Natural Resources and Core Industries

  • Directs funds to the Department of Environmental Quality to timely process permits for energy development and ensure protection of public health and the environment. 
  • Continues investments in energy-related research including continued enhanced oil recovery research and the development of a coal pyrolysis plant. 
  • Recommends funding to shore up the State Engineers Office and the Office of the Attorney General to protect the use of water in the state. 

Effective and Efficient State Government

  • Provides an increase in the salaries of state employees to bring them up to a comparable market value in 2024. 
  • Recommends a modest capital construction budget that fully funds major maintenance for all state facilities, replenishes the contingency fund of the State Building Commission, and funds the longer-range needs study.