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HB0294 • 2025

Federal mineral royalties-distribution amendments.

AN ACT relating to state funds; amending the distribution of specified federal mineral royalties received by the state; making conforming amendments; repealing obsolete provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Budget Education Energy Land Taxes
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Bear
Last action
2025-03-03
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2025

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text is not provided, and the official digest does not contain detailed information about the content of the bill.

Changes to How Wyoming Uses Federal Mineral Royalties

The bill modifies how Wyoming distributes federal mineral royalties exceeding certain thresholds and updates the distribution rules for future fiscal years.

What This Bill Does

  • Modifies the distribution of federal mineral royalties received by Wyoming when it exceeds $200 million in a year.
  • Establishes new distribution rules starting from fiscal year 2026 based on revenue forecasts issued by the consensus revenue estimating group.
  • Repeals obsolete provisions related to previous distribution methods.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The state of Wyoming, particularly its budget and school funding.

Terms To Know

Federal mineral royalties
Money paid to a state by the federal government for using land owned by the federal government, like oil and gas drilling on public lands.
Consensus revenue estimating group
A group that provides revenue forecasts used in budget planning.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much extra money will be available each year.
  • It is unclear what the long-term impact of these changes will be on state finances and education funding.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB0294H3001

3rd reading • Representative Harshman

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment changes the distribution of federal mineral royalties received by the state, increasing one portion from half to seventy-five percent and decreasing another portion from half to twenty-five percent.

  • Changes 'One half (1/2)' to 'Seventy-five percent (75%)' for one part of the royalty distribution.
  • Changes 'One half (1/2)' to 'Twenty-five percent (25%)' for another part of the royalty distribution.
  • The amendment does not specify which parts of the royalty distribution are being changed, only that one portion is increasing and another is decreasing.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-03 Senate

    S:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to SR 5-4

  2. 2025-02-28 Senate

    S No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2025-02-18 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S02 - Appropriations

  4. 2025-02-12 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  5. 2025-02-11 House

    H 3rd Reading:Passed 56-5-1-0-0

  6. 2025-02-10 House

    H 3rd Reading:Laid Back

  7. 2025-02-07 House

    H 2nd Reading:Passed

  8. 2025-02-06 House

    H COW:Passed

  9. 2025-02-04 House

    H Placed on General File

  10. 2025-02-04 House

    H02 - Appropriations:Recommend Do Pass 5-1-1-0-0

  11. 2025-01-29 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H02 - Appropriations

  12. 2025-01-28 House

    H Received for Introduction

  13. 2025-01-27 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
25LSO-0711
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0711
Introduced
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0294

Federal mineral royalties-distribution amendments.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Bear and Smith, S and Senator(s) Hicks, Laursen, D and Smith, D

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to state funds; amending the distribution of specified federal mineral royalties received by the state; making conforming amendments; repealing obsolete provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
601(d)(intro), (vi), (vii), (o)(intro) and by creating a new subsection (p) is amended to read:

9
‑
4
‑
601.

Distribution and use; funds, accounts, cities and towns benefited; exception for bonus payments.

(d)

Except as provided in subsections
(k), (m), (n) and
(o)
and (p)
of this section, any revenue received under subsection (a) of this section in excess of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000.00) shall be distributed as follows:

(vi)

From the amounts which would otherwise be distributed to the school foundation program account under paragraph (iii) of this subsection and
amounts that would otherwise be distributed under
paragraphs
(k)(i), (m)(i), (n)(i) and
(o)(i)
and (p)(i)
of this section, there is annually appropriated to the common school permanent fund reserve account the amount determined under W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
719(g).

The appropriation shall be credited to the account as provided in W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
719(g);

(vii)

From the amounts that would otherwise be distributed to the budget reserve account under paragraph (iv) of this subsection and
the amounts that would otherwise be distributed under
paragraphs
(k)(ii), (m)(ii), (n)(ii) and
(o)(ii)
and (p)(ii)
of this section, amounts necessary to make the required revenue bond payments as provided by W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
1003(d), but in no event more than eighteen million dollars ($18,000,000.00) annually;

(o)

For fiscal year 2025, any revenue received under subsection (a) of this section in excess of five hundred forty
‑
nine million four hundred thousand dollars ($549,400,000.00)
and for fiscal year 2026, any revenue received under subsection (a) of this section in excess of five hundred thirty million two hundred thousand dollars ($530,200,000.00)
shall be distributed as follows:

(p)

For fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, any revenue received under subsection (a) of this section in excess of the amount of revenue under subsection (a) of this section estimated to be received in the last revenue forecast issued by the consensus revenue estimating group in the most recent even
‑
numbered calendar year shall be distributed as follows:

(i)

One
‑
half (1/2) to the common school permanent fund reserve account;

(ii)

One
‑
half (1/2) to the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund reserve account.

Section 2.

W.S. 9
‑
4
‑
601(k), (m) and (n) is repealed.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2025
.

(END)

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HB0294