Lawmakers To Tackle Budget This Week

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Legislature plans to start hearings on a supplemental budget bill this week that would intercept some money that had been set for deposit in the state's rainy day fund this summer.

House Speaker Rep. Kermit Brown and Senate President Phil Nicholas, both Republicans from Laramie, say the Legislature will likely hear the budget bill for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday.

Lower energy prices are forcing state lawmakers to consider intercepting nearly $200 million that had been on track for deposit into the state's Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account this summer.

The move would leave the balance in the state's so-called rainy day fund at roughly $1.8 billion at the end of the current fiscal year this summer, rather than $2 billion as the state had forecast.