The original story can be read at http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2013/03/27/news/01top_03-27-13.txt
Feds hold on to $53M owed to Wyoming
Mead blasts Department of the Interior's newly announced decision to keep mineral royalties
By Trevor Brown
tbrown@wyomingnews.com
CHEYENNE -- Gov. Matt Mead denounced a recent decision by the federal government to withhold $53 million in mineral royalties payments owed to the state.
The U.S. Department of the Interior notified state officials Monday that it is withholding the funds as a result of the federal sequestration.
The move would cost the state about $10.6 million each month for the period of March through July. And more cuts could be required in August or September.
Mead criticized the decision, saying the department is unfairly passing the federal cuts on to the state.
"When (Wyoming) reduced its budget by over 6 percent, it did not achieve its reductions by withholding mineral revenue due under state leases," he said in a statement. "That would be taking someone else's property.
“Similarly, the Department of the Interior should not be able to meet its budget reduction by taking mineral revenues, which belong to the states under the law.”
Renny MacKay, a spokesman for Mead, said the funds were profiled, meaning it was money that was expected to come in when lawmakers put together the 2013-14 biennium budget.
“We don’t know how this will impact the budget until we get all the revenue (numbers) in,” he said. “But what we do know is that this is $53 million that was owed to us that we won’t get now.”
To put the potential $53 million reduction in context, the 6 percent budget cuts lawmakers approved earlier in the year will result in $61 million in reductions for the coming fiscal year.
Mead said he is working with state Attorney General Greg Phillips and Wyoming’s congressional delegation to see what resources are available to them.
Federal law requires Wyoming to receive 50 percent of the revenue from mineral leasing on federal lands.
But Gregory J. Gould, director of the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue, wrote to the state that the cuts are needed as a result of the automatic budget cuts that began to go into effect March 1.
Department of the Interior officials did not respond to calls seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.
State Treasurer Mark Gordon said he too will fight to prevent the reduction from going through.
“The opportunity to take a lot more of what the states are properly owed proved to be too tempting to the federal government,” he said in statement. “We are using every means necessary to make sure our state is made whole.”
Mead also lashed out at the Department of the Interior for giving the state little notice in making the announcement.
“This is no way to achieve adequate notice or give our state an opportunity to respond before the action is under way,” he said. “As far as communications go, this method of passing along significant information that greatly impacts Wyoming gets a grade of F-minus or worse. It is not acceptable.”
If the state is unable to stop the federal government from withholding the funds, it will be the second major budget hit from the federal government in the past year.
Congress passed a bill last July that stripped Wyoming of more than $700 million in Abandoned Mine Land funds that the state had expected to receive over the next decade.
State and congressional leaders similarly vowed at that time to fight the federal cuts. However, they have been unsuccessful thus far in doing so.
By Trevor Brown
tbrown@wyomingnews.com
CHEYENNE -- Gov. Matt Mead denounced a recent decision by the federal government to withhold $53 million in mineral royalties payments owed to the state.
The U.S. Department of the Interior notified state officials Monday that it is withholding the funds as a result of the federal sequestration.
The move would cost the state about $10.6 million each month for the period of March through July. And more cuts could be required in August or September.
Mead criticized the decision, saying the department is unfairly passing the federal cuts on to the state.
"When (Wyoming) reduced its budget by over 6 percent, it did not achieve its reductions by withholding mineral revenue due under state leases," he said in a statement. "That would be taking someone else's property.
“Similarly, the Department of the Interior should not be able to meet its budget reduction by taking mineral revenues, which belong to the states under the law.”
Renny MacKay, a spokesman for Mead, said the funds were profiled, meaning it was money that was expected to come in when lawmakers put together the 2013-14 biennium budget.
“We don’t know how this will impact the budget until we get all the revenue (numbers) in,” he said. “But what we do know is that this is $53 million that was owed to us that we won’t get now.”
To put the potential $53 million reduction in context, the 6 percent budget cuts lawmakers approved earlier in the year will result in $61 million in reductions for the coming fiscal year.
Mead said he is working with state Attorney General Greg Phillips and Wyoming’s congressional delegation to see what resources are available to them.
Federal law requires Wyoming to receive 50 percent of the revenue from mineral leasing on federal lands.
But Gregory J. Gould, director of the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue, wrote to the state that the cuts are needed as a result of the automatic budget cuts that began to go into effect March 1.
Department of the Interior officials did not respond to calls seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.
State Treasurer Mark Gordon said he too will fight to prevent the reduction from going through.
“The opportunity to take a lot more of what the states are properly owed proved to be too tempting to the federal government,” he said in statement. “We are using every means necessary to make sure our state is made whole.”
Mead also lashed out at the Department of the Interior for giving the state little notice in making the announcement.
“This is no way to achieve adequate notice or give our state an opportunity to respond before the action is under way,” he said. “As far as communications go, this method of passing along significant information that greatly impacts Wyoming gets a grade of F-minus or worse. It is not acceptable.”
If the state is unable to stop the federal government from withholding the funds, it will be the second major budget hit from the federal government in the past year.
Congress passed a bill last July that stripped Wyoming of more than $700 million in Abandoned Mine Land funds that the state had expected to receive over the next decade.
State and congressional leaders similarly vowed at that time to fight the federal cuts. However, they have been unsuccessful thus far in doing so.
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