House committee adopts amendment to allow forestry firefighters access to public‑safety retirement plans
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Summary
The committee voted to advance HB34, which lets full‑time state forestry firefighters and certain seasonal 'temporary full‑time' employees enroll in public‑safety retirement plans starting 07/01/2026; committee members asked LSO for updated fiscal details on incremental cost.
House Bill 34, a measure to change retirement plan eligibility for state forestry wildland firefighters, advanced out of the joint appropriations committee on a voice and roll‑call vote Tuesday.
Kelly Norris, Wyoming State Forester, told the committee HB34 would allow full‑time forestry conservation employees to enroll in the law enforcement retirement plan and put full‑time wildland firefighter employees into the Wyoming National Guard firefighter retirement plan; coverage would begin 07/01/2026 and existing full‑time employees must choose by 04/30/2026. "House bill 34 is, specifically for firefighter retirement," Norris said in introducing the bill.
David Swindell, executive director of the Wyoming Retirement System, said the change is designed to make state firefighter benefits competitive with neighboring states and federal agencies. "The plan's in reasonable shape. It's 84 percent funded," Swindell said, and adding members could help the system approach full funding because the incremental contribution is shared by employer and employee.
Representative Sherwood proposed — and the committee adopted — a friendly amendment inserting the phrase 'temporary full time' after 'full time' on page 3 to include nine‑month seasonal helitack positions that meet the bill’s service threshold. Norris explained the intent: without the change, similar seasonal workers could end up in different retirement plans. "If we were gonna hire them on full time, they'd have two different retirement plans," she said.
Committee members pressed staff for fiscal clarity. The committee noted an existing appropriation referenced elsewhere in the session and asked Legislative Service Office (LSO) to provide updated fiscal calculations showing the incremental cost of moving employees from the public employee plan to the public‑safety (Air Guard) plan; Swindell estimated the employer share could be roughly a 3% increase in payroll for affected employees.
After the amendment passed, the committee took a roll‑call vote and recorded seven ayes. Representative Sherwood will carry HB34 to the floor."As amended," the clerk reported, "House Bill 34 do pass as amended." The bill will proceed to the full House for consideration.