The Wyoming Legislature started its 20-day 2024 Budget Session February 12. The state of Wyoming operates on a biennial budget so the budget will cover two years. The budget will be the largest piece of legislation in front of the legislature this year.

The good news is income is strong for the state. The proposed budget will put funds into saving, both temporary and permanent. These savings would protect the state from revenue shortfalls in the future.  

The bad news is the state’s proposed budget is one of the largest ever proposed. Concerns have been raised if the proposed budget levels are sustainable. Time will tell.

Another large issue in front of the legislature is property taxes, more specifically the escalation of residential property taxes. The issue is how to give relief to homeowners without hurting local revenue and staying within the Wyoming Constitution.

The Wyoming Constitution states that residential property must be valued at full market value. This means that residential property cannot be valued at a portion of market value.  The Constitution also outlines rebates can only be given to the poor. This limits what options are available to provide relief.

Many of the bills dealing with property tax relief are using exemptions to provide relief. The bills range from exemptions for the elderly, persons living in the property for 10 years, and exempting any increase over a certain percentage (3-5%).  

Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation policy supports keeping the annual increase below 5 percent and providing relief to Wyoming citizens.

WyFB represents our members’ policy at the Legislature. For weekly updates, we provide a radio report each Thursday during the session on the Northern Ag Network. If you miss it, go to wyfb.org and click on the “News” tab to listen to the radio programs. For additional updates, we send a weekly email to volunteer leaders as well as Gold, Silver and Century Club members. If you are interested in upgrading to take advantage of this member benefit, please email broes@wyfb.org.