Governor Mead Still Studying Wyoming Education Bill

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead says he is still studying the education bill that was passed by the 2018 Wyoming Legislature.

The governor signed the other bill that was passed on the last day of the legislative session, House Bill 194 or the capital construction bill. He says there was more urgency to get that legislation finalized because contractors were waiting to start working on some projects that are included.

In the case of House Bill 140, the school funding bill, Governor Mead said that as of Thursday morning he was still expecting to sign the measure, but hadn't finished his review of the entire bill. He said one difference between the education bill and other spending bills passed by lawmakers is that he may not be able to issue a line item veto on the education bill, according to an opinion from the Wyoming Attorney General's Office.

That is because the education bill deals with a single appropriation, school funding, as opposed to multiple appropriations. He says that means HB 140 is ''take it or leave it."

While the governor said that so far he doesn't expect to veto the entire bill, he added that if that changes the legislature would likely have to come back into session to either override his veto or craft a new school funding bill.