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Appropriations committee approves bill to simplify distribution of federal mineral royalties
Summary
House Bill 294 would change distributions of federal mineral royalty revenue, routing future excesses into two reserve accounts split 50/50 and removing several smaller distribution provisions; committee passed the bill following testimony and a caution from school administrators.
Representative Bair presented House Bill 294, a bill to simplify how federal mineral royalties (FMRs) above certain thresholds are distributed. The measure would eliminate several specific subdistributions and instead allocate FMRs above statutory thresholds half to the common school permanent fund reserve account and half to the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund reserve account.
Representative Bair told the committee the change is intended to simplify the state's cash-flow architecture and shift money into reserve accounts that can be invested for higher returns rather than flowing through multiple smaller accounts. He noted the bill keeps distributions for amounts under the threshold intact but collapses the more detailed flows above the threshold into a 50/50 split.
The bill’s fiscal note anticipates only modest changes to account balances in the short term. Representative Bair noted the fiscal note showed a roughly $600,000 change for fiscal year 2026 — a decrease to the school foundation program account and a corresponding increase to the budget reserve account — but characterized the change as minimal.
Boyd Brown of the Wyoming Association of School Administrators testified that, given other pending proposals that may reduce property tax revenues, committee members should be cautious about reducing near-term flows to the school foundation program; he suggested consideration of putting more into the spending account rather than a reserve until the revenue picture is clearer. Representative Bair and others responded that earnings from the reserve accounts flow back to the school foundation program as returns accumulate and that the accounts are not permanently inaccessible.
Committee questions also clarified that the bill would remove an $8,000,000 distribution to the University of Wyoming and fold it into the new distribution scheme; Representative Bair said the university block grant provides an alternative mechanism to address that funding if needed.
Public comment included technical input from the Treasurer's office and the treasurer’s CIO about the volatility of energy revenue and the practical benefits of consolidating accounts. After discussion the committee voted the bill do pass.
The roll call recorded five ayes, one no (Representative Sherwood) and one excused.
