Governor makes possible final State of the State address CHEYENNE, WY (wpr) - Governor Dave Freudenthal gave his eighth and possibly final state of the state address to a joint session of the Wyoming legislature this morning. The speech marked the beginning of the legislative session. This month lawmakers will be debating the state's budget for the next two years. Governor Freudenthal emphasized that legislators should not dip into reserves to fund spending during the next two years, even though a lot of interests will ask them to spend that money.
"I would encourage you when people say the governor needs to spend reserves, ask them how they are managing their own finances and if they are prepared to bet their house, their savings and their livelihood on the very gamble they are asking us to take on the state's future."
The governor says he will decide in March about whether or not he will run for a third term.
The governor also touched on many non-budget items during his state of the state speech Monday. For instance the governor supports uniform standards for how to handle juveniles who enter into the criminal justice system and he called for toughening the state's drinking and driving laws. He also asked lawmakers to consider a package of wind generation bills, including a controversial excise tax on wind development, "You are being asked to diversify the state's tax base, you are being asked to be reasonable with regard to impacts to local government and you are being asked to make a decision that nobody in this state gets a free ride."
Freudenthal also urged legislators to provide funding for the University of Wyoming's Carbon Capture and Sequestration effort. And he called for a tougher statewide seatbelt law.
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