Senate panel narrows bill after months of debate over tax exemption for state-owned land

Senate committee members on Wednesday moved a narrower version of Senate File 81 — originally drafted to exempt all state-owned property from local property taxes — out of the committee of the whole after lengthy debate and two amendments that limit and time-box the exemption.

The bill, sponsored through the Agriculture Committee and later reviewed by Revenue, originally would have declared all property owned by the State of Wyoming tax-exempt and included a repeal date at the end of 2026. After a standing-committee amendment and a committee-of-the-whole amendment, the bill as reported applies only to certain state grazing leases and retains a temporary sunset intended to give lawmakers and state agencies time to respond to a recent Wyoming Supreme Court decision about the scope of constitutional exemptions.

Senator Crago, speaking in committee, tied the bill to Article 15, Section 12 of the Wyoming Constitution, which exempts property “when used primarily for a governmental purpose,” and said the measure was intended to address a court opinion that created uncertainty for leases and other state-owned uses. “In October of this year, our supreme court handed down a…