Throughout the Legislative Budget Session, the Chamber aims to continuously influence decisions within community, economic, and talent development for the benefit of the Greater Cheyenne Business Community.
In partnership with the Wyoming Business & Industry Federation, the Chamber will monitor the following bills throughout the session.
SUPPORT
HB32 Resident tuition for military members and family.
HB32 supports our men and women in uniform as well as their families. This expands and clarifies what it means to be eligible for resident tuition. The children of military members should not be financially harmed if their parent’s duty station carries them outside of Wyoming.
HB40 School finance model re-calibration.
Education funding continues to be an item of importance and interest for business across the state. The bill forces re-calibration, which is the first step to garnering quality information for making informed decisions. Education is of the utmost importance to businesses across the state. Workforce issues are prevalent and will continue to be an issue for years to come. Our best hope to mitigate workforce issues is to strengthen our education system and make sure that it is as efficient and effective as possible. Wyoming requires a workforce that will advance the economy - this bill is a step towards creating the education system necessary for this.
HB47 Local sales and use taxes.
This bill helps citizens in counties across Wyoming fund local projects. It builds dependability of revenue stream for counties that utilize a local tax for the development of infrastructure. The optional tax changes the percentage of local governments that need to agree on the tax to 50%. Additionally, the bill allows the tax to be continued on a more permanent basis by resolution or a public vote.
HB63 Fuel tax.
HB63 raises gasoline and diesel taxes in Wyoming by 3 cents. The bill also raises fuel taxes on snow mobiles, motor boats and off road vehicles. Do businesses around the state of Wyoming support a fuel tax increase? Is an increase in fuel tax currently justified? Certainly Infrastructure is a valid concern in Wyoming and the conditions of our roads and bridges are lacking in certain areas. The fuel tax is a user fee, goes directly to paying for road repair, and has been viewed favorably by business historically.
SF3 Military department authority to accept donations.
A bill requested by the Wyoming Guard for the authority to accept donations for activities related to family support, veteran support, etc. A good way to support our men and women who wear the uniform of the Wyoming Guard.
OPPOSE
HB64 National corporate tax recapture.
This bill is a reiteration of the Big Box Income Tax Bill from 2019. Changes include expanding the NAICS codes to answer concerns regarding constitutionality. There are still issues of discrimination, as only certain big box stores would pay the tax. Corporations should not pay taxes like individuals do. It is our concern that the citizens of Wyoming will ultimately pay the tax in the form of higher consumer prices. Additionally, do we want to establish an income tax for the first time in Wyoming history? Certainly, the current proposal is quite narrow, but once an income tax is established, the desire to expand the breadth of the tax to pay for legislative wants becomes tempting.
HB98 Defend the Guard Act.
This bill restricts the ability of the President of the United States to have the Wyoming Guard at their disposal to defend out nation unless Congress approves action. We live in an unsettled geopolitical environment that demands prompt reaction to deescalate conflicts. The ability to deploy troops is clearly spelled out in the US Constitution and in federal law. If there is a need for change of Presidential power, then the US Congress should make those rules. Different rules for different states and limitations on the President's ability to employ the full power of our military to defend freedom and defeat tyranny around the world runs contrary to the highest principles of our nation. This is a federal issue and should be treated as such.
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