§ 9-2-1013 — State budget; distribution of copies to legislators; copies and reports of authorizations; interfund loans

(a) On or before the third Monday in November of the year
preceding the year the legislature convenes in budget session,
the governor shall distribute to each legislator electronic, or
upon request printed, copies of the state budget, covering the
next biennial budget period beginning on July 1 of the ensuing
year, containing the itemized requests of the agencies for
appropriations or other funds, estimated revenues and receipts
to the state, and his recommendations and conclusions. The state
budget shall include:
(i) Expenditures incurred in the two (2) previous
fiscal years and estimates of expenditures for the ensuing two
(2) fiscal years;
(ii) Revenues during the two (2) previous fiscal
years and estimated receipts for the ensuing two (2) fiscal
years;
(iii) The indebtedness and obligations of the state;
(iv) The condition of the various funds and the state
treasury as a whole;
(v) A general summary of the economic and social
conditions of the state;
(vi) Recommendations relative to state program goals
and objectives.
(b) The department shall furnish to the legislative
service office copies of all authorizations by the governor
pursuant to W.S. 9-2-1005(b) within ten (10) days following the
authorization. The legislative service office shall make
quarterly reports of all authorizations by the governor to the
legislative management council and the joint appropriations
committee. The furnishing of copies of authorizations required
under this subsection shall be in addition to the notice
required by W.S. 9-2-1005(b).
(c) Preparation of supplemental budgets for presentation
in general sessions shall also be made within the time frame of
W.S. 9-2-1012 and this section.
(d) In addition to the items contained in subsection (a)
of this section and notwithstanding any other recommendations
made by the governor, the state budget shall also include the
governor's recommendations for appropriations for the ensuing
two (2) years, or if a supplemental budget request, the
remainder of the budget period, subject to the following:
(i) The state budget shall include the governor's
recommendations for a total appropriation from the public school
foundation program account and based upon recommendations of the
select school facilities committee under W.S. 28-11-301, a total
appropriation for school capital construction purposes for both
fiscal years;
(ii) The total recommended appropriations under this
subsection for any two (2) fiscal year budget period shall not
exceed the total estimated revenues for that two (2) year
period. The total estimated revenues computed under this
paragraph shall not include increases in existing revenue
sources which would be available to the state only after
enactment of legislation in addition to existing law, but shall
include the unencumbered balances in all other accounts in all
other expendable funds subject to this section, and as further
provided herein, as those funds are identified in accordance
with standards promulgated by the governmental accounting
standards board, but specifically excluding pension funds,
nonexpendable trust funds, debt service funds and
intragovernmental funds, that would be available for that budget
period. Funds within the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund
reserve account created under W.S. 9-4-719(b), the common school
permanent fund reserve account created under W.S. 9-4-719(f)
funds within the legislative stabilization reserve account in
excess of the limitation under subparagraph (iii)(C) of this
section, or funds within five percent (5%) of estimated general
fund receipts for the next biennium to be appropriated to the
budget reserve account as required by W.S. 9-2-1012(e) shall not
be included in total estimated revenues computed under this
paragraph. Funds from a contingent appropriation shall not be
included as an estimated source of revenue or funds available
unless those funds previously had been authorized to be expended
within the fiscal period covering the budget period of the
recommendation;
Note: Effective 7/1/2026 this paragraph will read as:
(ii) The total recommended appropriations under this
subsection for any two (2) fiscal year budget period shall not
exceed the total estimated revenues for that two (2) year
period. The total estimated revenues computed under this
paragraph shall not include increases in existing revenue
sources which would be available to the state only after
enactment of legislation in addition to existing law, but shall
include the unencumbered balances in all other accounts in all
other expendable funds subject to this section, and as further
provided herein, as those funds are identified in accordance
with standards promulgated by the governmental accounting
standards board, but specifically excluding pension funds,
nonexpendable trust funds, debt service funds and
intragovernmental funds, that would be available for that budget
period. Funds within the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund
reserve account created under W.S. 9-4-719(b), the common school
permanent fund reserve account created under W.S. 9-4-719(f),
funds within the legislative stabilization reserve account in
excess of the limitation under subparagraph (iii)(C) of this
subsection and the general fund reserve amount specified by W.S.
9-2-1012(e) shall not be included in total estimated revenues
computed under this paragraph. Funds from a contingent
appropriation shall not be included as an estimated source of
revenue or funds available unless those funds previously had
been authorized to be expended within the fiscal period covering
the budget period of the recommendation;
(iii) The total recommended appropriations under this
subsection shall not include any of the following:
(A) The diversion of any existing revenue
sources which diversion would require enactment of legislation
in addition to existing law;
(B) The transfer of funds from an account to
another account except transfers from the budget reserve
account;
Note: Effective 7/1/2026 this subparagraph will read as:
(B) The transfer of funds from an account to
another account;
(C) An appropriation from the legislative
stabilization reserve account, to the extent the recommended
appropriation together with any appropriation under W.S. 9-2-
1014.3, other recommended contingent appropriation or other
recommended appropriation from the legislative stabilization
reserve account would exceed in any fiscal year five percent
(5%) of the balance of that account as of the first day of the
fiscal year in which the recommendation is made;
(D) The transfer of funds from any contingent
appropriation shall not be included, unless those funds
previously had been authorized to be expended within the fiscal
period covering the budget period of the recommendation by law
other than W.S. 9-2-1014.2 and 9-2-1014.3 and remain unexpended,
unencumbered and unobligated. Unencumbered, unobligated funds
from a contingent appropriation authorized for one (1) fiscal
year under W.S. 9-2-1014.2 or from an appropriation under W.S.
9-2-1014.3 shall lapse at the end of the fiscal year and shall
not be included in the recommended appropriations for any
subsequent fiscal year.
(iv) As used in this subsection, "appropriations"
include specific legislative authorization to expend state
revenues contained in a budget bill that is enacted into law, an
amount to be expended from an account which does not require
additional specific legislative authorization, the transfer of
funds from the budget reserve account to another account or a
specific statutory distribution of a revenue source;
Note: Effective 7/1/2026 this paragraph will read as:
(iv) As used in this subsection, "appropriations"
include any of the following:
(A) Specific legislative authorization to expend
state revenues contained in a budget bill that is enacted into
law;
(B) An amount to be expended from an account
which does not require additional specific legislative
authorization;
(C) A specific statutory distribution of a
revenue source.
(v) For each submitted budget the governor shall:
(A) Specify the exercise of any authority under
W.S. 9-2-1014.2 in the current fiscal biennium;
(B) Identify any structural budget deficit or
budget shortfall he believes exists within the fiscal biennium
for which the budget is submitted or will exist within the
immediately succeeding fiscal biennium;
(C) Include recommendations for the amount of
contingent appropriations which should be made or supplemented
for the existing fiscal biennium and each of the two (2)
immediately succeeding fiscal biennia. The governor shall not
recommend a contingent appropriation from the legislative
reserve account which would result in the total of all
appropriations, including any appropriation under W.S. 9-2-
1014.3, in any fiscal year exceeding five percent (5%) of the
balance of that account as of the first day of the fiscal year
in which the recommendation is made.
(vi) Nothing in this subsection prevents the governor
from recommending an additional, alternative budget without the
limitations specified in this subsection;
(vii) The state budget may include recommendations
for additional funding for state agencies that receive federal
mineral royalties or severance tax distributions and for local
governments from federal mineral royalties or severance tax
distributions under W.S. 9-4-601(d)(iv) and 39-14-801(d),
subject to the following: [NOTE: This paragraph will be
effective 7/1/2026.]
(A) To the extent the legislature appropriates
funds under this paragraph from the general fund for local
governments, the appropriation shall comply with and be subject
to the following:
(I) The amount appropriated to local
governments shall not exceed the amount available under this
paragraph, less appropriations under this paragraph to state
agencies;
(II) A total amount shall be annually
appropriated to the state treasurer to be distributed to all
local governments as follows:
(1) Thirty percent (30%) to counties,
in the proportion which the population of the county bears to
total state population;
(2) Seventy percent (70%) to cities
and towns, each city and town to receive an amount in the
proportion which the population of the city or town bears to the
population of all cities and towns in Wyoming.
(III) The distributions to local
governments under this paragraph shall be made by the state
treasurer not later than October 15 of the fiscal year next
following the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made.
The distributions shall be from revenues actually recognized in
the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made. Any
interest earned on invested funds allocated to local governments
under this paragraph shall be retained in the general fund as a
reserve amount.
(B) To the extent that actual recognized
revenues are less than the estimated deposits referenced in this
paragraph:
(I) The distribution of any appropriation
to local governments under this paragraph shall be reduced by a
pro rata amount; and
(II) The state auditor shall reduce the
spending authority of any state agency receiving an
appropriation under this paragraph by a pro rata amount.
(C) As used in this paragraph:
(I) "Local government" means any county or
municipality;
(II) "State agency" means the department of
transportation, the University of Wyoming and the water
development office.
(e) Repealed By Laws 2003, Ch. 34, § 1.
(f) Except for an interfund loan made under W.S.
21-13-316, an interfund loan from permanent funds for which an
interest rate is not specified by law shall be charged an
interest rate equal to the CPI for the twelve (12) month period
immediately preceding the effective date of the interfund loan.
"CPI" means the consumer price index for United States city
average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted, reported
by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States
department of labor.