LARAMIE — Funding for wildfire suppression and recovery efforts was at the forefront of Gov. Mark Gordon’s mind this year when he presented a “frugal” supplemental budget request of $220 million in one-time spending to the Wyoming Legislature, with $130 million dedicated to wildfire mitigation. .

The supplemental budget is considered every general session to meet emergency and unforeseen needs, Gordon told members of the media Thursday in Laramie. That need came to light after the Equality State experienced a devastating and historic wildfire season this year, second only to the 1988 Yellowstone fire.

“This year was our first opportunity in a few tumultuous years to honor that tradition,” Gordon said of the Conservative spending request.

Prioritizing funding for wildfires

An expensive and devastating wildfire season has depleted the state’s emergency firefighting account, as well as the Office of Homeland Security’s emergency account and the governor’s emergency accounts, Gordon told reporters.

The governor was forced to withdraw $20 million from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA, also known as the “rainy day fund”) to continue funding firefighting efforts that have exceeded $56 million dollars this year.

“We have an emergency firefighting account left that needs to be filled,” Gordon said. “At the same time, we need to think about mitigating damage to effective landscapes and assisting recovery.”

He added that just over 750,000 acres have burned in states across the region this year. In Texas, a single fire has burned more than 1.2 million acres.

Wyoming is one of five western states without a state-funded disaster recovery program, Gordon said, which is why he recommended setting aside $130 million to be deployed to state agencies to deal with invasive species and rebuild watersheds.

Keep OBs, behavioral health providers

Evanston Regional Hospital has announced it will close its labor and delivery services this fall, another devastating loss helping to expand Wyoming’s maternity health care desert across the state.

The Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health and Human Services Committee prioritized addressing the issue of Wyoming’s maternity health care deserts this interim, and agreed in its September meeting that the issue will need further investigation after the 2025 general session ends.

However, only four of the commission’s 12 members will return to the new 68th Legislature.

“We’re losing obstetrics providers in many places around the state,” Gordon said. “And I hope the Legislature takes note.”

The governor said the loss of these providers puts a strain on families struggling to find the money for gas or time to travel the extra miles to the nearest clinic. For some Wyoming towns, such as Evanston, which is near the Wyoming-Utah border, those clinics are out of state.

“Slowing or even reversing this trend is complicated,” Gordon said. “There don’t seem to be many easy solutions.”

Gordon said increasing Medicaid reimbursements for health care providers is critical so hospitals “can remain competitive and preserve these vital services.” The governor recommended adding $2.39 million to the Wyoming Department of Health budget, with half coming from the state’s general funds and the other half from matching federal dollars.

“Nearly one-third of deliveries in Wyoming require Medicaid,” Gordon said. “We have to make sure Wyoming remains a competitive place for them to take care of them here.”

In his ongoing effort to expand the state’s mental health services, Gordon also recommended increasing reimbursements for behavioral health providers and home health providers.

He requested an additional $1.66 million for behavioral health rebasing and an additional $672,728 for home health care rebasing. Healthcare rebasing is the process of adjusting Medicaid rates based on more recent cost data. Both amounts will be split equally between the state (from the general fund account) and the federal government.

Third, the final phase of the WIP

The Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) is a collaborative program with the University of Wyoming and the state’s community colleges to promote a “resilient workforce and economy.”

Gordon launched the program in 2021 in three phases and requested that the Legislature fund the remaining $5.2 million for the third and final phase. Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, former chairman of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, said earlier Thursday that the program is “right up our street.”

WyoFile reporter Maggie Mullen asked Gordon during the news conference if that boosted his confidence in getting support from the Freedom Caucus for the program. This group of hard-line Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 election.

“Maggie, I would hope so,” Gordon said. “I think people are trying to get elected because they want to do the right thing and they have different opinions about how to do that. But it was certainly encouraging to hear him talk about how aligned the Freedom Caucus seems to be with the core motivation for WIP, which is to enable our workforce to meet the needs of the industry.”