Property Tax Relief Bill Called For 25% Cut, Was Boosted To 50%, Now Back To 25%

The Wyoming Senate slashed a bill that would have cut property taxes 50% for Wyoming homeowners down to 25% on Friday.

Senate File 69 had originally called for a 25% reduction before being boosted to 50% with an amendment, and now has gone full-circle and restored to its original intent to shave residential property taxes by a quarter.

The amendment to take the bill back to 25% was brought by State Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, and it would apply to home values up to $1 million. It passed the Senate on a 19-12 vote and still has one more reading before it moves on to the House.

The change to increase the cut from 25% to 50% was made on the bill’s first reading in the Senate, along with an amendment that removed a backfill funding mechanism for local governments and schools. The latter aspect of the bill still remains.

Why Not Half?

Brennan urged returning the cut to 25%, saying it will provide relief without gutting local public services. Property taxes go toward funding local governments and schools in Wyoming.

She mentioned how only four hospitals in the state have made a profit in recent years and that the state can’t afford to lose a single one of these facilities if it wants future generations to have a strong future.

“I just ask that we reconsider and bring this back to 25% cut, not a 50% cut, and that we think about the safety of our communities and our children and what we are doing for them,” she said.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, disagreed, saying his constituents need a larger cut because the assessed values of their homes have increased so much. Residential property taxes increased by 65% from 2019-2023, and $43 million from 2018-2024.

Sen. Troy McKeown, R-Gillette, agreed with Scott and said he knows of a critical care hospital in his local area that’s operated in the red for several years, yet still added a new parking lot and other capital projects during that time frame. He believes it’s time for Wyoming residents to get “real” tax cuts.

“We can give them more money, they’ll just spend it,” he said. “It’s time that some of the local districts become more efficient. What’s more important, government, or the constituents?”

But Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, countered that examples like this are not shared universally around the state, mentioning how local commissioners in Sweetwater County have cut their budget in recent years.

“Our people have experienced things, our people have experienced cuts,” he said.

Kolb urged the Senate to instead make cuts to the state’s budget that could be used toward tax relief. Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, agreed, saying there’s plenty of opportunities to make cuts within this budget.

Hicks agreed, saying “rural Wyoming matters.”

He mentioned how McKeown’s Campbell County had an assessed valuation of $5.3 billion, the largest in the state, and said a characterization that every county is spending money poorly is “irresponsible.”

“How they choose to spend that money is up to the people in that county,” Hicks said.

Kolb’s fellow Sweetwater County legislator Sen. Stacey Jones, R-Rock Springs, also pointed out that only 10 of the state’s 23 counties saw increases of more than 50% in tax revenue.

“We’re asking 13 counties to reduce their budgets to help 10 counties. Is this responsible? I don’t think it is responsible,” she said. “Twenty-five percent is responsible and it still helps out every resident of this state that pays property taxes.”

Ballot Initiative Impact

A citizen’s ballot initiative to lower property taxes by 50% will already go to voters in 2026. Many who argued in support of reducing the cut to 25% warned that keeping it at 50% would be preemptively making a decision for the people on this issue.

Hicks also said the Legislature shouldn’t be making decisions based on a ballot initiative that hasn’t passed yet.

“You’re now preempting the decision of the people of Wyoming, saying we’re going to do it for you, so you don’t have to,” Hicks said. “Let’s give our own counties … before driving off the cliff. I represent rural Wyoming, and it matters.”

McKeown said this argument is inaccurate and SF 69 has nothing to do with the ballot initiative.

“It’s not that big of a deal. We’re not going to shut down fire departments and police departments,” McKeown said. “Let’s quit kicking the damn can down the road.”

Some counties would lose millions of dollars if the 50% cut were to go forward.

Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, disagreed and mentioned that people shouldn’t forget that a state property rebate program already exists, which he believes has been incredibly valuable for low-income earners in Teton County. The program is open to applicants who make up to 145% of their local or state median income, whichever is greater.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, agreed and said residents will definitely notice a 25% cut, for better or worse.

“People don’t realize what they’ll lose if they don’t have revenue available for these services to be provided to the community, but it’s important,” he said. “This is either way going to be significant.”

Other Amendments

Sen. Cheri Steinmetz unsuccessfully brought an amendment that would exempt the state’s eight poorest counties from the backfill cut, using counties with an assessed value of $850 million or lower as the benchmark.

“While we all want to give balance to areas hit hard by these property taxes … at the same time asking folks who didn’t see the increase,” she said. “I’m trying to remedy the problem.”

Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, questioned Steinmetz about the $850 million threshold, pointing out that his home Fremont County has an assessed value of $851 million. Salazar and Steinmetz competed for Senate leadership positions this fall, with Salazar winning out.

McKeown also spoke against this proposal, saying it amounts to no more than a “feel good” measure.

“This is the best mechanism we’ve got to get relief out there this year,” he said. “If we’re going to give a tax cut, it’s going to need to come with a spending cut, or it means nothing.”

The amendment died on a 20-10 vote.

Scott also brought an amendment that would have removed a 2027 expiration date on the tax cut.

Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, said permanent reform is needed for property taxes in Wyoming and spoke in favor of the amendment.

Hicks spoke against removing the sunset date and warned that the Legislature has “poured everything in the cookpot and maybe this thing is going to blow over.”

Brennan also spoke against it, saying the Legislature needs to be able to evaluate how their public services are impacted by the tax cuts.

Jones agreed.

“Why wouldn’t we give back local control?” she questioned.

Scott dismissed these concerns, saying that “we could fix that in a hurry.”

He also believes the sunset date gives a false message to the Wyoming voters that the Legislature is providing real property tax relief.

“Are hope is to make this a long term for the tax problem they have,” he said. “That clearly tells the voters that’s what we’re going to do.”

The amendment died on a 21-9 vote.

An amendment was passed to the bill clarifying that someone can’t get two different exemptions in the same year for a 100% discount, preparing for the potential scenario that both SF 69 and the ballot initiative pass into law.

House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, told reporters on Friday that he would be willing to suspend the House rules in order to fasttrack SF 69 to the governor’s desk for approval, in case the governor vetoes it.

“If that doesn’t work, I want him to have enough time left that we can take another horse in the race,” he said.

Neiman indicated he sees that horse as House Bill 169, a bill that provides a 50% tax exemption.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.