Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
CASPER — Over 80 bills died when both chambers of the Legislature adjourned on Friday evening.
Friday marked the deadline for the second reading of bills in their house of origin and 81 bills — 25 in the House of Representatives and 56 in the Senate — were scheduled to be heard for the first time out of committee.
Friday additionally marked the midpoint of the 20-business-day session where the Legislature is tasked with setting and approving the entire state’s budget for 2025 and 2026. Bills brought forward ranged from the budget, property taxes, mental health funding to non-budget-related bills.
Roughly half a dozen property tax relief bills in the Senate were proposed and none survived past Friday.
Three House bills relating to property tax relief remain alive and have been handed to the Senate. HB 3 would provide property tax exemptions for residential property owners over 65 years of age who have paid property taxes in Wyoming for at least 30 years and House Bill 4 would expand eligibility for the existing property tax relief program.
A property tax relief program was created last year to tackle rapidly rising statewide property taxes, which rose an average of 20.3% last year. The current program caps eligibility for household incomes over 125% of the county or state median household income. HB 4 seeks to increase the cap to 165% of county or state median household income and implement tiers of relief.
The remaining active bill is HB 45, sponsored by Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, which would act as a 5% cap on yearly property tax increases for single family residential structures — the bill does not affect land.
The Wyoming constitution is allowed to provide tax exemptions but a cap on property taxes would require amending the constitution. HB 45 would not require changing the constitution as it is structured as an exemption.
Funding for mental health fell short but bills potential changes to health care in Wyoming remain.
HB 186 and HB 144 would have contributed money to the 988 system trust, which was created last year but not funded. Both bills were not read for a second time. The 988 system is a national network of local suicide and crisis call centers and Wyoming for years has struggled with one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.
Health care bills that have survived include HB 15, which would set a two-year limit for health insurers to seek reimbursement for health insurance overpayments. Exceptions are made for fraudulent claims.
HB 14, which would set regulations for prior authorization — a process health insurance companies use to determine which treatments and medications they will cover and pay for under a patient’s plan.
Wyoming is the only state in the country without laws regulating prior authorization and the process has been criticized by doctors and health providers as time and resource consuming while patients are left waiting for care.
HB 1 and SF 1 — the state’s budget — both passed their chambers Thursday evening with amendment and were handed to the opposite chamber as of Friday.
The nearly 170 proposed amendments in the House and over 125 in the Senate created late nights during the second week of the session.
More than 60 changes were adopted in the Senate’s bill and 70 changes were adopted in the House’s bill.
The Senate and House Appropriations Committees were set to hold separate meetings Monday morning to review changes made to the budget. Monday additionally marked the final day for the third reading of bills in their chamber of origin.
The session is scheduled to wrap up on March 8.
