Legislature approves $11B biennium budget

The Wyoming Legislature wrapped up the 2024 Budget Session on March 8, and despite cutting their deadline close, both the House and Senate passed a budget for the next biennium.

According to a press release from Ryan Frost, a legislative information officer, appropriations and transfers for the 2025-26 fiscal biennium total $11 billion.

“Of this, $3.4 billion is from the General Fund, net of de-appropriations and including $170 million of discretionary transfers to savings,” the release says.

While the budget was approved, two local legislators — Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, and Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, say they are not happy with the amount of spending approved for the next two years.

“It seems the Legislature is determined to keep tax revenue flowing to the state at a higher rate every year. It is clear there is a lack of effort to change the spending habits of the government,” Neiman said in his update. “We see that especially when it comes to the budget, which has been presented in multiple forms over the last 20 days.”

The Senate’s original budget, before making it to the Joint Conference Committee, reigned in government spending with a $480 million cut to Gov. Mark Gordon’s budget proposal, he said, while the original House version added $350 million.

“When faced on Friday with the latest iteration of the Joint Conference Committee’s budget, I voted no because the bill represents continual growth in state government. It’s a question of needs and wants; and when I see Wyoming families struggling to get by, I simply cannot justify the rate of spending that our people would bear the brunt of,” Neiman said. “This comes down to a fight for fiscal restraint and the prosperity of our children and grandchildren.”

Steinmetz expressed similar thoughts in her update, stating that the budget “does not exercise the fiscal restraint nor prioritize spending in a way that our state needs.”

“The Senate entered budget negotiations with a strong position of $767 million dollars in reduced spending which was (a) divide of $1.1 billion with the House, however the second JCC did not hold the line on the Senate position,” Steinmetz said.

A few givebacks, she said, were restoring roughly $340 million to the governor’s energy slush fund, giving back the gender studies program and the requirements of a standard budget at the University of Wyoming, approving $2.5 million for an air show at the Casper airport, as well as approving a third raise for state employees.

According to Steinmetz, her greatest concern about the budget is the energy matching funds. She said this is a slush fund with no “legislative oversight” and that it is the “epitome of bad government to allow one individual to administer such a large pot of money.”

“Initial budget numbers indicate $10.6 billion in spending for the 25-26 biennia. In voting no, I stand with the families who do not have the ability to match the increased rate of spending that the majority of Wyoming Legislature just approved,” Steinmetz said. “Our state needs fiscal discipline to ensure more money remains in the pockets of hard-working Wyoming citizens.”

Steinmetz further explained that some items added back to the budget — the elimination of transfers and tips through the several holding accounts in the budget — will not show up in the final budget number because they affect the current budget and will be deducted or added to this year’s biennium.

Another local legislator, Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, said in a joint update issued with Speaker of the House Albert Sommers, that the Legislature passed a “conservative, balanced budget that addresses the state’s needs and invests in the future.”

“Those investments include funding for nursing homes, preschool for developmentally disabled children, and home services for senior centers. The budget supports mental health efforts and funds energy projects,” the update says. “Additionally, and importantly, the final budget restored more than $300 million for the construction of K-12 schools. All of this was achieved with a general fund budget that is $200 million lower than the budget proposed by the governor or introduced by the Joint Appropriations Committee. We are proud of the work that was accomplished and commend our fellow legislators for a job well done.”

In the end, the Legislature approved the budget on a 41-21 vote in the House and a 17-14 vote in the Senate.

Property tax

With property tax in the state on track to increase more than 80% by 2026 to more than $700 million, according to Steinmetz, property tax reform was a main focus of the Legislature.

“Heading into the session, addressing runaway property taxes was our top priority,” Driskill and Sommers said in their update. “It remained so until the end. We are pleased to report that the Legislature passes the largest property tax reform package in the history of our state.”

This package, they said, includes Senate File 54, House Bill 45 and House Bill 4. Together, the update says, they “provide a three-pronged approach to alleviate the increases residents have suffered over the past several years and provide protections against continued growth.”

Senate File 54 provides a 25% exemption on the first $2 million of the fair market value of a single-family residential structure.

“At the same time, it offers a backfill to towns and counties to avoid cuts to critical services and programs and includes a two-year sunset clause to adjust for any unforeseen impacts,” the update says.

House Bill 45 provides long-term protection, capping annual property tax increases at 4%.

“This will prevent residents from getting slapped with massive, unforeseen tax hikes, which has become routine in many parts of the state, and allow them to plan their finances from year to year,” the release says.

House Bill 4, the third part of the package, provides
additional access to existing relief funds for lower-income residents.

“This bill adjusts the threshold to apply for local property tax relief — funds that have already been approved and budgeted by the Legislature — from 125 percent of the local gross median income to 165 percent,” the release says.

Steintmez said that the bills will certainly “alleviate some of the property tax burden impacting people across the state.”

Other important bills this session

• HB0125 Repeal of gun-free zones, removes restrictions on gun-free zones in Wyoming, making it a safer place by recognizing the rights of law-abiding citizens to exercise their rights and responsibly carry. As of this writing, this bill is headed to the governor’s desk.

• HB0148 Regulation of abortions, requires surgical abortion clinics and their physicians to be licensed. This bill was strengthened with an amendment that would necessitate that a pregnant woman seeking an abortion undergo an ultrasound at least 48 hours before the procedure. This bill is on the governor’s desk.

• HB0166 Education savings accounts, creates education savings accounts for families who want an option other than the public school system. It’s important to note that the House was able to pass an amendment making it clear that families will need to opt in if they want to participate. As of this writing, this bill is headed to the governor’s desk.

• SF009 Parental rights in education, addresses procedures for school districts to communicate with parents and guardians about their children’s information. Specifically, the bill requires schools to inform parents about available health services. It permits them to decline specific services while mandating compliance with reporting abuse or neglect. This measure aims to strike a balance between parental rights and the responsibilities of teachers and school staff. This bill is now law without the governor’s signature.

• SF102 Foreign property ownership-critical infrastructure, would restrict America’s foreign adversaries from buying or owning property that could compromise Wyoming’s critical infrastructure or military bases. This bill died in the House Appropriations Committee.

• SJ002 Foreign adversaries prohibited property ownership, which by a vote of the people would have placed language in the constitution to prohibit foreign adversaries, including China and Russia, from owning land in Wyoming also died on the same day in the House Appropriations Committee.

• SF0013 Federal land use plans-legal actions authorized, provides a mechanism and funding for the Legislature to take legal action against the federal government. This bill is on the governor’s desk.

• SF109 Prohibit red flag gun seizure, would prohibit red flag gun laws from being enforced or implemented in Wyoming. As of this writing, this bill is headed to the governor’s desk.

• SF0099 Children gender-change prohibition, (Chloe’s Law) prohibits any doctor in Wyoming from performing gender transition procedures on children under the age of 18. This measure provides that doctors, surgeons, pharmacists and other health care providers could lose their license should they allow or perform gender transition procedures or surgeries on a minor. This bill is on the governor’s desk.

Source: Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle, and Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett