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Appropriations Committee advances bill to create Wyoming generational investment account, approves as amended
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee voted 4-3 to pass Senate File 197 (House Bill 197), creating a Wyoming Generational Investment Account to invest state funds with an emphasis on private equity and private credit; the measure was amended to delay the account's start date by one year and failed to adopt an amendment converting transfers to loans.
Representative Aleman presented Senate File 197 (House Bill 197), a bill to create the "Wyoming Generational Investment Account," which would accept transfers or appropriations and invest them under a structure that emphasizes private equity and private credit. "The account shall be invested so that the overall risk profile of the account's investments shall not materially exceed the risk profile of a reference portfolio, that consists of 85% private equity and 15% private credit investments," the bill text reads as presented to the committee.
The bill sets out a baseline funding assumption of $100,000,000 per year into the account and a distribution rule that, beginning 30 years after the initial deposit, 37.5% of the account's investment earnings would be directed to the general fund each year. "The baseline of this entire deal is an assumption that a hundred million gets put in every single year," Senator Driscoll told the committee. Patrick Fleming, chief investment officer for the treasurer's office, described the proposal as an effort to protect intergenerational equity and to use an "endowment model" that can achieve higher long-term returns than the state currently realizes.
Committee members and witnesses discussed the bill's intent, mechanics and risks. Senator Driscoll called the measure "probably the most significant bill of the session" and said the structure would allow Wyoming to preserve mineral-derived wealth for future generations while potentially reducing future reliance on federal funding. Deputy Treasurer Williams and Treasurer Meyer (attending by video) and CIO Fleming answered technical questions about returns, assumptions and carrying costs. Fleming said the endowment model has historically averaged roughly 9-10% in some institutional examples, while the state's recent private investment returns have been in the double digits over a short span; the treasurer's office highlighted conservative assumptions for modeling.
Opponents and skeptical members raised concerns about using Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA) balances as the funding source. Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, a member of the State Loan and Investment Board, testified that creating a separate account could duplicate existing "coffee cans" of savings and reduce the LSRA's ability to backfill core deficits. Representative Pendergraft and others questioned the policy choice of diverting funds from available reserves and asked whether spending-policy changes or different investment allocations could address the same concerns without creating a new account.
The committee considered several amendments. Representative Aleman moved an amendment that would have converted transfers into loans; that amendment failed on a voice vote. Representative Harrelson successfully moved an amendment to delay the bill's effective dates by one year (changing the initial effective date from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027 and corresponding downstream dates). After debate, the committee voted on the motion to pass the bill as amended.
On a roll-call vote to pass Senate File 197 as amended, members recorded the following: Representative Aleman, Aye; Representative Angelos, Aye; Representative Harrelson, Aye; Representative Pendergraft, No; Representative Sherwood, Aye; Representative Smith, No; Chairman Bair, No. The tally reported was 4 ayes and 3 noes. The committee recorded the motion to pass by Representative Harrelson, seconded by Representative Angelos; the committee clerk announced the result as "do pass as amended." The committee then moved on to other business and adjourned.
The bill now carries the committee's recommendation to pass as amended. The committee discussion emphasized the bill's long time horizon, model assumptions (including the $100 million annual baseline and a 37.5% earnings distribution after 30 years), and trade-offs between saving for future generations and preserving the LSRA for near-term budget stability.
Votes at a glance: Senate File 197 (House Bill 197) -- Motion to pass as amended, mover Harrelson, second Angelos; roll-call tally 4-3 (Aye: Aleman, Angelos, Harrelson, Sherwood. No: Pendergraft, Smith, Bair).
