Senate Revenue Committee approves amended homeowner property-tax exemption; Department of Revenue warns of system limits

Senate Revenue Committee members voted 3-2 to advance Senate File 69, a revenue-committee-sponsored bill that would exempt 25% of the fair market value of a single-family residential structure and its associated residential land up to $2,000,000 from property tax, with committee amendments changing the bill’s backfill and sunset provisions.

The exemption as drafted applies to the fair market value of the structure and associated residential land (not auxiliary structures such as barns or sheds) and was described by Department of Revenue staff as intended to cover 2025 property taxes payable in 2026. The bill follows Senate File 54 from the prior session, which applied only to the residential structure; SF69 expands that relief to associated residential land.

The Department of Revenue emphasized a technical hurdle. Brenda Henson, Wyoming Department of Revenue, told the committee, “Our computer assisted mass appraisal system currently is maxed out as to the number of percentage exemptions that they can calculate.” Ken Gill, administrator of the Property Tax Division, provided the committee’s fiscal context, saying the fiscal note for a two-year window with associated land is “right at 285,000,000,” and noting last year’s Senate File 54 (structure only) had a lower fiscal estimate.

Henson and Gill said the department can apply the 4% annual cap on residential growth and can apply the long-term homeowner exemption in current law, but their system cannot stack and net multiple percentage exemptions the way the bill’s language would for some properties. Henson proposed a practical amendment for the committee’s consideration: if a property claims the long-term homeowner’s 50% exemption, then the new 25% exemption would not also apply for that same tax year. The committee discussed drafting language to make that exclusion explicit.

Public testimony ranged widely. Dave Davis, Sweetwater County assessor, said the legislature’s earlier refund program had issued 512 approved applications in his county totaling $367,000 (average refund about $718) and cautioned that new exemptions shift revenue away from local services. “When things get tight, revenue gets lost, those are the ones that lose. They lose first,” Davis said, urging legislators to consider backfill options or structural fixes such as changing the residential assessment rate statewide. Other speakers — including local governments, community-college representatives and nonprofits — described potential budget impacts to general-fund services such as police, fire, roads, senior centers and community colleges if state backfill was not provided.

Committee members debated two major changes offered in a standing-committee amendment: removing the bill’s sunset provision and removing the proposed state backfill that would reimburse local governments for the lost property-tax revenue. The committee divided the standing amendment for consideration; committee members directed Legislative Service Office staff to draft the divided language. After debate the committee approved the amendments as recorded in committee and approved the bill as amended on a roll call.

Vote at a glance: the roll-call vote on Senate File 69 as amended was Case: No; French: Aye; Eyde: Aye; Pappas: No; McEwen (chair): Aye (3–2). The motion to move the bill was recorded as moved by Senator French and seconded by Senator Eyde. Committee minutes show the standing committee amendment (division) addressed both sunset language and the backfill; committee staff will prepare the final, combined amendment for the floor.

Why it matters: SF69 would provide targeted property-tax relief to homeowners who meet the bill’s definitions, but it also creates a measurable revenue reduction for counties, municipalities and special districts unless the state backfills. The Department of Revenue’s technical limitation on applying multiple percentage exemptions means the committee and bill sponsors must resolve implementation mechanics before the bill reaches the floor.

Next steps: The committee reported the bill out of committee as amended. Legislative Service Office staff will finalize amendment language for the floor and the bill will be scheduled for floor action.