Gov. Mark Gordon released his supplemental budget recommendations Thursday, focusing his requests on expenditures he called “important, necessary and of immediate value” during a press conference in Laramie.  Gordon’s requests include upping various Medicaid reimbursement rates, additional funding for the state’s property tax refund program, more money for litigating against federal regulations and replenishing firefighting funds depleted by a historic fire year.  “As we move forward, it is imperative that our expenditures not only address immediate response and recovery needs but also reflect a long-term commitment to building resilience for the future — including disasters — while not exceeding our income,” Gordon wrote in his budget letter.  Gordon’s recommendations are simply that since lawmakers ultimately hold the purse strings. In even-numbered years, the Legislature crafts the state’s two-year budget. In odd-numbered years, that budget is adjusted to account for any changes, emergencies or unanticipated needs. The 2024 budget session was a contentious one, particularly when it came to the budget bill, which narrowly passed in the Senate. Gordon let lawmakers know he was less than impressed with the chaos surrounding budget negotiations, but ultimately approved most of the bill. His line-item vetoes in the budget, however, stirred up unsuccessful calls for the Legislature to reconvene in a special session to override Gordon.  Sen. Larry Hicks, right, confers with Senate President Ogden Driskill, middle, during the 2024 budget session at the Wyoming Capitol in Cheyenne. (Ashton J. Hacke/WyoFile) Thursday, the governor once again voiced his approval of the final product.  “That budget, despite some of the drama of getting it to the finish line, is well done and apparently appropriate as this supplement only envisions an additional $6.5 million in ongoing expenditures, and much of that requirement is from inflation,” Gordon said at the press conference.  In one-time requests, Gordon said there’s a total of $220 million. The budget — which honored Gordon’s funding requests for the 988 suicide lifeline, new school construction, an expanded property tax refund program and increased savings — set the state up well for the winding down of federal funding mechanisms, including the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, Gordon said.  “Over the past year, Wyoming has seen something of a return to our ‘normal’ economy — one much less affected by events outside our control, such as extraordinary fiscal stimulus or pandemic-induced economic impacts,” Gordon wrote in his letter.  While the state may be returning to economic normalcy, legislative politics are entering uncharted territory. A new group of Republicans will be in charge of the Legislature this year. The Freedom Caucus — a hard-line group of Republicans who formed in 2020 to challenge what they saw as a left-leaning Republican establishment — picked up enough seats to control the House. The group has taken aim at Gordon before, so his budget recommendations could face an uphill battle.  Fire-fighting funds Wyoming’s 2024 wildfire season was second only to 1988, when the infamous Yellowstone wildfires scorched 1.7 million acres, as WyoFile previously reported.  That cost the state a lot of money.  “A sobering thought is that Wyoming suffered over 1,900 wildfires that consumed nearly 850,000 acres in 2024. Twenty four of those fires qualified for funding from the Emergency Fire Suppression Account (EFSA),” Gordon wrote. “Two of those fires rank as the second- and third-worst fires in Wyoming’s history. Currently, 2024 fire suppression costs exceed $56,000,000. The cost exhausted all funds in the EFSA account, including those left over from previous years.” Gov. Mark Gordon received a briefing on the Pleasant Valley Fire on Aug. 2, 2024. The fire is burning one mile north of Guernsey. (Courtesy Governor’s Office) The fires also depleted the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security’s contingency account along with the governor’s contingency account, forcing the state to borrow $20 million from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account, better known as the state’s rainy day fund.  “Fighting these fires exhausted our total biennial allocation for fire control within a few months instead of two years,” Gordon wrote. “I am not sure any of us imagined all of that capacity would be used up that quickly.” Putting out the fires is one thing, Gordon wrote. Recovery is another.  The latter is challenging in Wyoming because the state is one of only five western states that does not have a state-funded disaster recovery program to address disasters that do not meet the requirements for federal disaster assistance.  “This year’s fires devastated thousands of acres of grazing, forage and habitat for domestic animals and wildlife,” Gordon wrote. “A comprehensive restoration program must be implemented forthwith to be effective.” As such, Gordon recommends $130 million to be set aside in the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust for a comprehensive restoration program.  Economic development and litigation To continue to “take the fight to the federal government,” Gordon wrote, he’s asking for funding for two senior, experienced attorney positions along with $7.5 million for the Coal Litigation Funds “to ensure Wyoming has the resources to protect all of its natural resources from federal overreach.”  This looking-south aerial shot depicts a coal silo facility at Arch Resource’s Black Thunder mine in Wyoming, in July 2024. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile, courtesy EcoFlight) Gordon is also asking for $5.2 million for the final phase of the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, an initiative intended to build workforce resilience and boost the state’s economy.  Shortly before the governor’s press conference Wednesday, Freedom Caucus Chairman Emeritus Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) said the Wyoming Innovation Partnership was “right up [the caucus’] alley” during a lawmaker roundtable at the Wyoming Business Alliance forum in Laramie.  When asked if Bear’s remarks boosted his confidence about the likelihood the Freedom Caucus would support the funding, Gordon said, “I would hope so.” “It’s certainly encouraging to hear him talk about how aligned the Freedom Caucus apparently is with the primary motivation for the WIP, which is about enabling our workforce to meet the needs of industry,” Gordon said. “So I’m excited about that.” Healthcare During the 2024 legislative interim, or the off-season when committees meet, both the governor’s office and the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee prioritized obstetrics services.  As WyoFile’s five-part Delivery Desert series detailed, Wyoming is facing a significant shortage of obstetric services, forcing families to go to extraordinary lengths to deliver babies.  Doctors minister to a newborn infant. (Todd Anderson/FlickrCC) This month, another hospital announced it would discontinue labor and delivery services.  “This is a complicated issue that we continue to evaluate and develop recommendations to address,” Gordon said. “One thing that we can do today is increase Medicaid rates for our providers to ensure we can help retain the services in Wyoming, as Medicaid births account for approximately one-third of the deliveries in Wyoming.” As such, Gordon requested about $2.4 million to be added to the Department of Health’s budget — split evenly between state and federal dollars.  “In addition to increasing the rates for OB services, I am also recommending increasing the rates for our behavioral health providers and our in-home health providers based on the recent rebasing studies,” Gordon wrote. “The rebasing studies have revealed that our providers are underfunded.” Property tax relief was another area where Gordon sought a boost. After lawmakers expanded the size and scope of the state’s property tax refund program, homeowners took advantage and sought relief.  “The initial amounts of the total refunds to taxpayers were underestimated,” Gordon wrote, asking that $10.5 million be added to the program.  The governor’s office will present his recommendations to the Joint Appropriations Committee on Dec. 9.   BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to WyoFile. Our work is funded by readers like you who are committed to unbiased journalism that works for you, not for the algorithms. RELATED Wyoming’s revenue streams more diversified but will remain volatile, state forecasts Wyoming’s ‘massive’ 2024 wildfire season second only to infamous ‘88 The post Gov. Gordon asks for firefighting, litigation and health care funds in supplemental budget recommendation appeared first on WyoFile .