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SF0068 • 2025

Government owned lands.

AN ACT relating to taxation; clarifying the taxability of state owned lands; providing a sunset date; creating a task force to study and provide recommendations related to the taxability of government owned property; requiring a report; specifying applicability; providing appropriations; and providing for an effective date.

Education Taxes
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Revenue
Last action
2025-02-04
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2025

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and therefore its provisions have not been enacted.

Clarifying Taxes on Government Lands

This act clarifies that state-owned lands are exempt from property taxes regardless of their use and creates a task force to study government property tax issues.

What This Bill Does

  • Amends the law to clarify that all state-owned lands are exempt from property taxation, regardless of how they are used.
  • Establishes a task force with members appointed by legislative leaders and the governor to review past taxation rules for government property and recent court decisions about taxing state lands.
  • The task force must report its findings and recommendations to certain committees by October 1, 2025.

Who It Names or Affects

  • State government
  • Taxpayers

Terms To Know

Task Force
A group of people chosen by leaders to study a specific topic and make suggestions.
Sunset Date
The date when something, like a law or program, ends automatically unless it is renewed.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill did not pass in the session.
  • It does not specify how other types of government property will be taxed after the task force's recommendations are made.
  • The exact impact on taxpayers and state finances is unclear until the task force reports its findings.

Amendments

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

SF0068SW001

Committee of the Whole • Senator Hicks

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how a specific part of the bill about taxation is worded, adding that 'governmental purpose' includes leasing state school lands.

  • Adds language to define 'governmental purpose' as including the lease of state school lands.
  • The amendment only specifies a change in wording and does not provide details on how this affects taxation or other aspects of the bill.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-04 Senate

    S COW:Failed 11-16-3-0-1

  2. 2025-01-30 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  3. 2025-01-30 Senate

    S02 - Appropriations:Recommend Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0

  4. 2025-01-28 Senate

    :Rerefer to S02 - Appropriations

  5. 2025-01-28 Senate

    S03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0

  6. 2025-01-14 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S03 - Revenue

  7. 2025-01-02 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  8. 2024-12-28 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
25LSO-0362
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0362
Numbered
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0068

Government owned lands.

Sponsored by: Joint Revenue Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to taxation; clarifying the taxability of state owned lands; providing a sunset date; creating a task force to study and provide recommendations related to the taxability of government owned property; requiring a report; specifying applicability; providing appropriations; and providing for an effective date.

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

Section 1.

W.S. 39
‑
11
‑
105(a)(ii)(intro) and by creating a new paragraph (xlvi) is amended to read:

39
‑
11
‑
105.

Exemptions.

(a)

The following property is exempt from property taxation:

(ii)

Subject to paragraph (xlvi) of this subsection, p
roperty of the state of Wyoming
that is
owned and used primarily for a governmental purpose
is exempt from property taxation
. The following property is not owned and used primarily for a governmental purpose:

(xlvi)

Lands owned by the state of Wyoming are exempt from property taxation regardless of the use of the lands. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the taxation of any other property, including improvements to land, that are not owned and used primarily for a governmental purpose as provided in paragraph (ii) of this subsection. This paragraph is repealed January 1, 2027.

Section 2
.

The property tax exemption provided in W.S. 39
‑
11
‑
105(a)(xlvi) as created in section 1 of this act shall apply to the tax year beginning January 1, 2025.

Section 3.

(a)

There is created the government property task force to consist of four (4) members appointed by the speaker of the house, four (4) members appointed by the president of the senate and two (2) members appointed by the governor.

(b)

The task force shall:

(i)

Review the taxability of government property considering the historical taxation of government property and the impacts of the recent Wyoming supreme court decision dealing with the taxability of state lands;

(ii)

Review the exemptions for different types of government property including federal, state, municipal, county, school and other public property;

(iii)

Make recommendations regarding the taxability of state lands and other government property. The recommendations may include any recommendations to amend the exemptions for government property among the different types of government property to make those exemptions uniform and to clarify the definition of "governmental purpose".

(c)

Not later than October 1, 2025 the task force shall report to the governor, the joint revenue interim committee and the joint agriculture, state and public lands and water resources interim committee on the activities of the task force and any recommendations of the task force under this section.

(d)

The legislative members of the task force shall receive compensation, per diem and travel expenses in the manner and amount prescribed by W.S. 28
‑
5
‑
101. Task force members who are not legislators and are not state employees shall receive the compensation, per diem and mileage paid to members of the Wyoming legislature under W.S. 28
‑
5
‑
101.

(e)

The task force shall be staffed by the legislative service office. The department of revenue and the office of state lands and investments shall provide assistance to the task force upon request.

(f)

The task force shall terminate June 30, 2026.

Section 4.

(a)

There is appropriated twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) from the general fund to the governor's office to pay compensation, mileage and per diem for nonlegislative members of the task force. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2026. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026.

(b)

There is appropriated forty
‑
five thousand dollars ($45,000.00) from the general fund to the legislative service office to pay for salary, mileage and per diem of legislative members appointed to the task force. This appropriation shall be for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2026. This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026.

Section 5
.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0068