Advocacy Corner: Breaking down the 68th Wyoming legislative session

By Jen Simon, guest contributor

Welcome to Advocacy Corner, a monthly series of nonpartisan advocacy posts by the Natrona Collective Health Trust, aimed at advancing our mission of improving the health of Natrona County residents. Each month, we explore key issues that impact community well-being, providing insights and information to empower residents. 

The 68th Wyoming Legislature adjourned sine die! (That means they’ve wrapped up the people’s business, officially, for the year.)

Because property taxes and property tax relief dominated the policy discussions of the legislature, we wanted to cover a few property tax facts to kick off this Advocacy Corner.

First things first: What exactly do property taxes pay for?

They pay for schools. They pay for local government and local services. They do not pay for state government or state services. The Tax Foundation describes property tax as “one of the few revenue generators available to local governments.”

Beyond basic services, Wyomingites also have the power to create special tax districts to meet other community needs. Each community can vote on whether or not to implement a special district for hospitals, law enforcement, community colleges, fire departments, cemeteries, libraries, weed control, water, and sewers. In Natrona County, for example, voters acted last year to create a senior services district. When we vote to add services, we are adding improvements to our communities.

Think about everything that connects us to each other and coheres our daily lives. Our roads, schools, hospitals, trails—and so much more!—keep us healthy and connected and remind us that we create and maintain our communities through our tax dollars, every day. It’s the most direct way our contribution helps to care for the people around us, including people we may never meet—and future generations of Wyomingites.

Wyoming Tax Facts puts it this way: “Property taxes (from industries, businesses, and residents) are how we pay for K-12 education, and local infrastructure and services. Locally approved property taxes also support special districts and community colleges in counties that host them. Property tax enables us to educate our future leaders and keep our communities livable.”

Property taxes are transparent. We each receive a tax bill annually. That bill lists each mill levied to show what county and city services we pay for. Transparency is one of the four cornerstones of taxation for the Wyoming Taxpayers Association. (The other three are: Justified, Equitable, Stable.)

Recent increases in the amount of property tax homeowners pay mainly come from high purchase prices that raised the fair market value of our homes, resulting in higher tax bills.

The 68th Wyoming Legislature passed significant property tax relief via Senate Enrolled Act 60 originally SF0069 – Homeowner property tax exemption, signed by Gov Gordon. It provides a 25% exemption for the first $1 million single family residential structures and associated improved land. For the first year, this will apply to all homes; after that, it applies only when the owner “actually resides” there for 8 months of the year.

The issue of property taxes will continue to be front-and-center as local governments and special districts grapple with the reductions and determine how to fund essential services. And, in 2026, voters will decide whether to cut taxes (and services) even further when we vote on a property tax reduction ballot initiative.

On March 26th, Wyoming Taxpayers Association and Wyoming Tax Facts will talk more about where things land—and where they might still go—during their free legislative debrief webinar.

A few more highlights on healthcare policy:

PASSED:
Wyoming legislators passed and Governor Gordon signed Immunity for drug overdose reporting making Wyoming the 50th state to adopt such a law. Research suggests fear of legal repercussions can make people reluctant to call 911. Remove the fear of criminal charges and people are more likely to seek help for a dying friend. The new law means that if people are using illicit substances and one overdoses, the person who calls 911 and tells emergency crews what happened would be immune from certain criminal charges, like possession or use of a controlled substance.

PASSED:
Emergency assistance immunity-mental health services extends “Good Samaritan” immunity to those helping others experiencing a mental health crisis, and would close a loophole in language that sometimes prevents members of the public from being trained for such crises. The bill updates the current statute to explicitly include mental health crisis situations, ensuring that physicians, volunteers, ambulance services, and other emergency responders who provide good faith assistance during a mental health emergency cannot be held civilly liable for their actions.

STALLED:
Maternity care was the top priority of the interim Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee, but the committee didn’t bring any bills to the session. Nonetheless, maternity care continued to be an important conversation at the start of the 68th Wyoming Legislature. Governor Gordon’s supplemental budget included an increase to the Medicaid reimbursement rate for maternity care. The House stripped that out of the budget, but the Senate restored it. The Senate also debated adding an $18 million appropriation to provide grants for the support of delivery and maternity care. The legislature did not pass a supplemental budget this year so nothing related to maternity, labor & delivery, or OB/Gyn services received funding. Members of the legislature are encouraging the interim Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee to revisit the subject and take steps to address Wyoming’s growing maternity deserts so discussions may resume this summer.

Jen Simon, MTS, generates public policy solutions and builds coalitions to enhance healthcare access and civic engagement across Wyoming.