Amending Wyoming's act of admission for leases and earnings.

23LSO-0251
2023
State of Wyoming
23LSO-0251
Numbered
2.0

Senate JOINT RESOLUTION NO. SJ0001

Amending Wyoming's act of admission for leases and earnings.

Sponsored by: Select Committee on Capital Financing & Investments

A JOINT RESOLUTION

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress to introduce a bill and enact law to amend Wyoming's act of admission to authorize the expenditure of earnings for the support of the common schools in Wyoming and to amend the authority for leasing state school lands.

WHEREAS, on July 10, 1890, the United States Congress enacted the Act of Admission that admitted Wyoming as a state in the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the Act of Admission granted the state of Wyoming two (2) sections of land in every township for the support of common schools; and

WHEREAS, the Act of Admission specified that any proceeds from the disposition of granted school lands were to constitute a permanent school fund, "the interest of which only shall be expended in the support of said schools"; and

WHEREAS, the Act of Admission authorized the state of Wyoming to lease granted school lands for mineral, grazing, agricultural or other purposes but that agricultural and grazing leases shall not exceed ten (10) years; and

WHEREAS, the Act of Admission specified that a percentage of the proceeds of the sales of federal public lands in Wyoming were to constitute a permanent fund, "the interest of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools" in Wyoming; and

WHEREAS, the Act of Admission specified that certain previously granted lands constituted a permanent fund, with the income to be used for university purposes; and

WHEREAS, the state created the common school account within the permanent land fund in accordance with the requirements of the Act of Admission and Article 7, Section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the common school account within the permanent fund has grown over the years and has been invested to where the current value of the fund exceeds four billion dollars ($4,000,000,000.00); and

WHEREAS, the investment of the funds in the common school account generates earnings and capital gains that are in addition to interest generated from the funds; and

WHEREAS, providing broader authority to the state of Wyoming for leasing granted school lands will allow the state of Wyoming to secure better long-term returns from leases; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to Wyoming's Act of Admission that would replace references to "interest" and "income" with references to "earnings" will better reflect the reality of how the common school account is invested and will allow the earnings that are generated from the investment of the permanent funds of the common school account to be better and more efficiently applied for the benefit of Wyoming's public schools; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to the Act of Admission to allow the state to lease granted school lands under laws that the Wyoming Legislature prescribes and subject to each lease securing the maximum long-term financial return will allow the state of Wyoming to secure greater returns from leases.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

That the Wyoming Legislature requests that members of Wyoming's congressional delegation introduce, and that Congress enact, legislation that will amend Wyoming's Act of Admission to strike references to "interest" in sections 5 and 7 of the Act of Admission and insert references to "earnings," and to strike the reference to "income" in section 8 and insert a reference to "earnings" and to amend provisions related to leases of granted school lands to secure greater returns from those leases.

Section 2.

That members of Wyoming's congressional delegation and Congress consider introducing legislation that makes the following changes to sections 5, 7 and 8 of the Act of Admission as follows:

Section 5.

All lands herein granted for educational purposes shall be disposed of only at public sale, the proceeds to constitute a permanent school fund, the
interest
earnings
of which only shall be expended in the support of said schools.
But said lands may, under such regulations as the legislature shall prescribe, be leased for mineral, grazing, agricultural, or other purposes, provided that the term of agricultural and grazing leases shall not exceed 10 years
Lands granted under this act for educational purposes may be leased in accordance with State law
; and such land shall not be subject to preemption, homestead entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the United States, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, but shall be reserved for school purposes only.

Section 7.

Five per cent of the proceeds of the sales of public lands lying within said state which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said state into the union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to the said state, to be used as a permanent fund, the
interest
earnings
of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools within said state.

Section 8.

The lands granted to the Territory of Wyoming by the act of February 18, 1881, entitled "An act to grant lands to Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming, for university purposes," are hereby vested in the State of Wyoming, to the extent of the full quantity of 72 sections to said state, and any portion of said lands that may not have been selected by said Territory of Wyoming may be selected by the said state; but said act of February 18, 1881, shall be so amended as to provide that none of said lands shall be sold for less than $10 per acre, and the proceeds shall constitute a permanent fund to be safely invested and held by said state, and the
income
earnings
thereof be used exclusively for university purposes. The schools, colleges, and universities provided for in this act shall forever remain under exclusive control of said state, and no part of the proceeds arising from the sale or disposal of any lands herein granted for educational purposes shall be used for the support of any sectarian or denominational school, college, or university. The section of land granted by the act of May 28, 1888 to the Territory of Wyoming for a fish hatchery and other public purposes shall, upon the admission of said State of Wyoming into the union, become the property of said state.

Section 3.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, the governor, the state treasurer and to each member of the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

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