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Senate fails to concur on homeowner property tax exemption after hours of debate
Summary
The Senate voted not to concur on Senate File 69, a homeowner property tax exemption package that drew extended floor debate about backfill amounts, percentage cuts and whether land or assessed value should be affected. The motion to concur failed 6–25.
The Wyoming Senate voted against concurring on Senate File 69 — a homeowner property tax exemption package — after extended debate on the amendments the House adopted and the fiscal backfill.
Senator McKeown moved concurrence on message 3-19 regarding Senate File 69 and urged colleagues to vote no; floor debate followed for more than an hour with multiple senators pressing for clarity on percentage cuts and backfill structure. "First change is a stripped out associated land... they cut the limit or the percentage to 25%... and then they put a hundred million backfill in it," McKeown said during her floor remarks, and she urged a no vote on concurrence.
Senator Scott and others urged a no vote or recommended delaying action to allow members to read the enrolled changes and to consider amendments; Senator Rothfuss emphasized confusion over whether the package reduced taxes by 50% for two years then 25% thereafter, with a 25% backfill, and pressed for precise answers.
After roll-call, the Senate failed to concur: concurrence vote recorded 6 ayes, 25 no. The clerk announced: "By your vote, you have failed to concur on Senate file 69." No subsequent amendments or further motions on SF69 were recorded during the session.
Why it matters: SF69 would have changed homeowner exemptions and included a time-limited larger reduction followed by a smaller permanent reduction along with a backfill mechanism; the disagreement centered on the size of the tax cut, whether land or structures are included, and the size/duration of backfill funding.
Outlook: Because the Senate failed to concur, the House and Senate may convene a conference committee or the bill may be revisited in amended form. The transcript records senators asking for an enrolled copy and suggesting the matter could return for more deliberation.
