Wyoming News Briefs

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Gov. Matt Mead has put plans for a new state office building in Cheyenne on hold in response to falling state revenue projections. Mead's decision not to spend $4.4 million likely delays the eventual renovation of the State Capitol because a new building would be needed to accommodate state workers and the Legislature during the project.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A 27-year Highway Patrol veteran is taking over as the new colonel of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Lt. Col. John Butler of Cheyenne has been selected as the new administrator of the patrol and will be promoted to the rank of colonel. He replaces Col. Jess Oyler, who retired at the end of last year.

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — University of Wyoming Police Chief Troy Lane is leaving to take the job of chief of police at the University of Tennessee. Lane is scheduled to begin his new job on June 25. He has been UW's police chief since 2007, supervising 14 officers and 10 support personnel. At Tennessee, he'll supervise a staff of 79, including 52 officers.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A lack of funding is keeping American Indian tribes from taking advantage of a change in the law allowing them to sentence tribal members to up to three years in prison for a single crime, instead of just one year. A U.S. Government Accountability Office says none of the 109 tribes surveyed have used the law because of the lack of funding and technical help from the federal government.