Lawley enters first legislative budget session

Going into her first state legislative budget session starting on Monday, Feb. 12, State Rep. Martha Lawley (R-HD27, Worland), said, “I am excited for my first budget session. I have been working for months to prepare for this session and become more familiar with the details of our state budget. Fortunately, I have always loved to learn new things.”

Although a budget session requires legislators to complete a balanced budget within 20 legislative days, legislators and committees additionally have the chance to present nonbudget bills that require a two-thirds vote of each chamber to be introduced.

As demonstrated by her goals for the budget session and bills she is sponsoring and co-sponsoring, Lawley intends on prioritizing property taxpayer relief, mitigating future utility rate increases and fighting federal government overreach.

BUDGET SESSION

Going into the budget session, Lawley outlined four main goals to guide her through decision-making. To provide a foundation for her goals, Lawley said she is a strong believer that, “true fiscal responsibility requires an accurate understanding of the facts.”

Lawley’s first goal is to understand where the largest increases in the budget are and why. According to a previous Northern Wyoming News article, the proposed biennial budget has a 12% increase.

Lawley noted that there are some increases in the budget that she agrees with in principle, because they align with her priorities.

While she said she may not agree with the amounts of money going toward them, Lawley said the increases are necessary.

According to Lawley, one large increase in the budget is to expand the taxpayer relief program. “The idea of immediate relief, primarily through the refund program, is what’s proposed in the budget increase. I support that,” said Lawley.

Two other reasons for large increases in the budget are to help fund the Public Service Commission budget, which advocates for consumers when it comes to utility rate increases, and to help the State of Wyoming defend its legacy industries from federal government overreach.

Lawley additionally said that the state now must replace money that it was receiving during the COVID-19 pandemic to fund necessary services, resulting in another increase. However, she pointed out that pre-pandemic, the state was already funding these services and now that COVID pandemic money will expire during the next budget cycle, the state is reinstating that same money that it had been doing before.

Lastly, Lawley said, “I want to limit increases as much as anyone. But, you know, we know that the government operates in the same economy we do, in terms of inflation. And that’s going to be a big factor.”

Looking for opportunities to save taxpayer money is another goal for Lawley. She said she will look for duplication and waste within the budget, as well as question the effectiveness of programs in the state.

Lawley said she also hopes to look for ways to simplify legislative accounts for better understanding and transparency. Having numerous accounts can make processes complicated and if some accounts have the same goal, Lawley said they should consider combining the accounts.

Her final goal for the budget session is to have meaningful discussion on how much money is needed in the legislative “rainy-day”/Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account.

Lawley said, “Wyoming depends heavily on the taxing of minerals, which are a very volatile part of our economy, subject to frequent boom and bust cycles.” Because of this reliance on minerals, the legislative rainy-day savings account proves to be necessary.

“We could get ourselves in a bind and it can happen more quickly than a lot of people maybe perceive because they’re not quite as aware of how volatile the minerals industry is, especially right now with all the federal regulation,” said Lawley.

NONBUDGET BILLS

Lawley said she will be bringing back her bill, previously known as House Bill 121, into this budget session as a personal, nonbudget bill. While it will be reassigned a different number for this session, Lawley said the bill will remain the same.

According to a previous Northern Wyoming News article, “The bill would take the responsibility of supporting property tax deferments out of the county level and place it on the Department of Revenue. It also makes tax deferments available for more people, with an added category for disabled veterans. Through Lawley’s bill, property tax deferments would be available to every property taxpayer on their principal residence as a possible relief option.”

Lawley said she may additionally sponsor a bill that would prohibit the addition of synthetic substances and other additives into hemp. In its current form, the bill is a Judiciary Committee bill, and Lawley said she would likely sponsor it as a personal bill if it is not initially introduced. The bill would also prohibit the sale of hemp with THC or psychoactive substances.

Lawley will also be co-sponsoring several bills and highlighted which ones she found to be most impactful and important for people to know about.

One bill she is co-sponsoring is a personal bill of Rep. Barry Crago (R-HD40), which caps property taxes rather than property tax evaluations. Lawley is co-sponsoring the House and Senate versions of the bill.

“This bill just caps up to 5% a year in the actual increase of the tax itself. And it is the only bill out there, even including the property tax initiative, that will give property taxpayers relief in 2024,” said Lawley.

Lawley said she is co-sponsoring this bill and bringing back her property tax bill, because she feels as though property taxes are the No. 1 non-budget bill issue.

When it comes to other bills regarding property taxes, Lawley said, “I will vote on property tax bills based on constitutionality, how they might uniquely affect Washakie and Big Horn counties, which provide the most immediate relief for taxpayers, and which provide the best long-term approach to permanent property tax reform.”

Other bills co-sponsored by Lawley include House Bill 85, which would require parental consent for minors to use social media, House Bill 81, which would amend public officer training requirements to remove fiscal training requirements for public officers and a resolution which, “expresses the intent of legislation to support local input in federal rule making,” said Lawley.

This resolution, which is a result of the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, sends a message to the federal government, said Lawley.

When new introducing federal regulations that directly impact Wyoming residents, Lawley said the resolution explains that agencies must listen to local input. If the resolution passes, it will provide the state with a basis to fight federal agencies on future decisions.

Lawley is part of the house committees Education and Minerals, Business & Economic Development.

See a previous Northern Wyoming News article published on Dec. 7 for information about committee bills.

People can follow the Legislature at wyoleg.gov, including livestreaming of House and Senate floor debate.