The 2017 legislative session kicks off at noon in Cheyenne and area lawmakers revealed their goals for this year, with all three looking at tackling the thorny issue of the state’s budget.
“There are a lot of budget challenges to face and one of the biggest ones of course is to meet our constitutional obligations for education and that is probably going to be at least my biggest priority,” Rep. Jerry Paxton, R-Encampment, told the Daily Times in a recent phone interview. “We are going to have to put the brakes on building new buildings and just find a way for now in order to meet the major maintenance requirements that we are going to have in the next year or two. That might be one of the biggest challenges, and to continue to fund education at a reasonable rate.”