A Wyoming Senate Committee moved a bill forward to support Governor Matt Mead’s efforts to diversify the state’s economy. The Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee passed the bill to form the ENDOW Executive Council, or the Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming Council.
The fifteen person council will be tasked with coming up with a twenty year strategy to diversify Wyoming’s economy. Senate President Eli Bebout said the the council will draw its members from various places like the University of Wyoming and the Department of Workforce Services, but no new positions will be created.
He adds that it will be important that the legislature and the governor’s office work together.
"We really need to have both sides involved," Bebout said. "The executive branch because they administer, and the legislative branch because we appropriate. I think all of us want the same end result. We want to see the state grow responsibly. We want to be able to have a revenue stream that we can live within and provide the services to our citizens."
Laramie Senator Chris Rothfuss said he is concerned that even with cooperative efforts, the $2.5 million allotted in the bill will not be enough to tackle the very large goal of diversifying the state’s economy.
