Wyoming’s dilemma: what to do with a $1.2 billion budget surplus

Robert W. Black

Associated Press Writer

Political leaders in Wyoming have a dilemma their colleagues in many other states can only dream of: what to do with a projected $1.2 billion surplus.

Suggestions for lawmakers range from extra funds for schools and prisons to saving more money for a rainy day.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity to do things that the state has only dreamed of for decades,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal said.

The unanticipated windfall — mainly the result of increased revenues from higher oil and natural gas prices — represents three-quarters of the state’s current General Fund spending.

By comparison, in California, a proportional surplus would total $59 billion, or more than enough to wipe out that state’s $36 billion debt and shortfall.

The big surplus comes as Wyoming lawmakers convene their budget session Feb. 9. The biggest question is deciding how much to spend and how much to save.

Despite a slowly improving economy, 30 states are projecting combined deficits of $39 billion to $41 billion, according to The Rockefeller Institute, a public policy research group.

Wyoming, though, has enjoyed a revenue resurgence, leaving officials with spending and saving options they haven’t seen in their lifetimes.

“States like Wyoming and West Virginia are countercyclical states, meaning they tend to do much better when other states are doing worse, in part because of energy prices,” said Arturo Perez, fiscal analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, said no other state comes close to Wyoming, either on a percentage or overall dollar basis.

“There are some states that are okay and most are in bad fiscal shape,” he said. “It’s clearly the anomaly.”