JACKSON, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon vetoed a bill Friday that would have outlined the process for the state to purchase land from Occidental Petroleum.
It was an unanticipated move considering Senate File 138 was fast-tracked through the Senate and then the House with the Governor’s approval. But the Governor noted that the Legislature’s failure to pass SF119 eliminated the funding mechanism that would be utilized to proceed with due diligence.
“Unfortunately, owing to the rapid changes of the waning hours of the session, the final bill was flawed. The original concept of the legislation was to establish a process to conduct due diligence and provide the funding to do so, as well as bless the authority to enter into a transaction of this magnitude,” Gordon wrote in his veto letter. “The end result is a vehicle so heavily laden with legislative baggage that the ability to conduct thorough and appropriate due diligence takes a back seat to mandated reports and recommendations.”
The Governor, and other members of the State Board of Land Commissioners, will continue to explore the purchase of lands and assets from Occidental Petroleum, and would have to bring any proposal back to the full legislature for a vote.
