JAC finalizes state budget ahead of legislative session

CHEYENNE — During its final meeting before the 2026 budget session, the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee finalized changes to the governor’s proposed $11.1 billion biennial state budget Thursday.

Since the governor proposed his budget in November, the JAC has carved out significant portions of the two-year spending plan. According to Legislative Service Office Fiscal Administrator Don Richards, the JAC has reduced Gov. Mark Gordon’s recommendations by a total of $314.4 million in the main budget bill.

However, those cuts were largely offset by the approval of $337.1 million for capital construction projects in a separate bill. In total, Richards said the JAC has saved $81.9 million in federal funds and $29 million in other revenues based on previous budget cuts, noting that other revenues are subject to interpretation.

Rural health transformation program

The meeting began with the finalization of the Wyoming Rural Health Transformation Program. The bill manages a massive influx of federal funds amounting to $205 million for 2026, with the potential to exceed $1 billion over five years.

The bill creates a perpetuity fund, depositing 80% of initial funds to provide revenue for decades after federal support expires. Wyoming Department of Health Director Stefan Johansson has previously described it as a “generational opportunity” to stabilize rural emergency departments and maternity wards.

On Thursday, the committee met with WDH in an executive session for around 30 minutes before discussing and ultimately approving the bill. It was initially accounted for in Gordon’s budget, but lawmakers stripped those allocated funds to run it as a separate piece of legislation.

Capital construction bill

Similarly, the committee carved all state capital construction projects out of the main budget and placed them into a stand-alone bill, 26LSO0434.

This move forces high-profile projects, such as the Veterans’ Home of Wyoming remodel and National Guard modernization, to be debated on their own merits, rather than being buried within thousands of lines of agency operating budgets.

The JAC has also moved $232.9 million in major maintenance funding into this new bill and previously shifted the primary funding source for these projects, totaling $332.1 million, from the state’s SIPA savings account to the General Fund.

For oversight, the committee voted to strike a “budget balancer” provision that would have automatically used the “rainy-day fund” (Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account) as a backup. Richards called the $332 million backup an “unusual amount of money” that was better handled through direct legislative action.

Sustained cuts to UW

The most contentious discussions Thursday involved the general government appropriations bill. The JAC kept intact a previously approved $40 million cut to the University of Wyoming’s block grant, roughly an 11% reduction.

Despite the cut, the committee moved to protect specific programs from the fallout. Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, moved to exempt the WORTH Institute and the High Bay Research Facility from the reductions, joining previous exemptions for the Colleges of Agriculture and Education. These exemptions would likely reduce funding to all other schools by more than 11%, as the impact will be spread between fewer programs.

This drew sharp criticism from Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, who warned against micromanaging the university.

“We talk a lot about not wanting to pick winners and losers, but here we’re picking winners ... we’re penalizing the losers and penalizing them more,” Gierau said. He later moved to restore the full $40 million, but the motion failed.

Defending and restrictions

When the JAC first began meeting about the budget in December, Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, advised lawmakers to take an “anti-acceleration” strategy to the budget in reference to government spending.

Throughout the process, this strategy became evident in decisions to cut programs and in one case, an entire agency – the Wyoming Business Council – leaving only $2 million for the State Budget Department to manage existing loans.

“I don’t believe that government is the solution to most of our problems,” Bear stated, justifying the reset of the state’s economic development agency.

Additionally, the JAC’s budget proposes the state take the following actions:

• Deny $111.8 million intended to move state employee salaries to 2024 market tables.
• Prohibit any state funds from being used for Wyoming Public Media.
• Adopt a global amendment prohibiting the Department of Health from spending money on abortions or gender transition services.

In a significant reversal in January, the JAC added $41.3 million in federal funds for Indian Health Services to cover mandated rate increases for tribal facilities.

With the work complete, the three finalized bills will be posted for public review this weekend. The 2026 budget session is scheduled to convene on Monday.

This story was published on Feb. 6, 2026.