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STATE OF WYOMING Working Draft
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DRAFT ONLY
NOT APPROVED FOR
INTRODUCTION
HOUSE BILL NO.
State budgeting and reserves-reorganization.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Obermueller
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to public funds; repealing accounts and
2 subaccounts as specified; amending appropriations, loan
3 authority, distributions and transfers of funds as
4 specified; modifying the distribution of revenues as
5 specified; removing encumbrances from specified accounts;
6 eliminating specified guarantees from accounts; amending
7 the distribution of severance tax revenues as specified;
8 amending the process for withholding appropriations to
9 local governmental entities; specifying the distribution of
10 excess funds as specified; modifying and limiting
11 distributions from reserve accounts as specified; amending
12 and limiting the spending authorization and permissible
13 uses of the legislative stabilization reserve account;
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1 providing for the transfer from and the reversion of funds
2 from repealed accounts and subaccounts; providing for the
3 deposit of specified accrued revenues; making conforming
4 amendments; repealing obsolete language; requiring reports;
5 and providing for an effective date.
6
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
8
9 Section 1. W.S. 9-4-722 is created to read:
10
11 9-4-722. Permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund spending
12 policy; legislative stabilization reserve account
13 guarantee; transfers.
14
15 (a) The annual spending policy for the permanent
16 Wyoming mineral trust fund is, for each fiscal year, an
17 amount equal to five percent (5%) of the previous five (5)
18 year average market value of the fund, calculated from the
19 first day of the fiscal year.
20
21 (b) Beginning July 1, 2026 for fiscal year 2027 and
22 for each fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall
23 transfer the investment earnings from the permanent Wyoming
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1 mineral trust fund under W.S. 9-4-204(u)(iii) in excess of
2 the spending policy established in subsection (a) of this
3 section from the general fund to the legislative
4 stabilization reserve account. The transfer shall be
5 credited to the legislative stabilization reserve account
6 by the state treasurer as soon as practicable after the end
7 of the fiscal year but not later than ninety (90) days
8 after the end of the fiscal year.
9
10 (c) Beginning July 1, 2026 for fiscal year 2027 and
11 for each fiscal year thereafter:
12
13 (i) To the extent funds are available and only if
14 investment earnings from the permanent Wyoming mineral
15 trust fund are insufficient to meet the annual spending
16 policy amount specified in subsection (a) of this section,
17 the state treasurer shall transfer unobligated funds from
18 the legislative stabilization reserve account to the
19 general fund in an amount equal to the amount the
20 investment earnings from the permanent Wyoming mineral
21 trust fund are insufficient to meet the annual spending
22 policy amount specified in subsection (a) of this section;
23
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1 (ii) To the extent funds are available and only
2 if investment earnings from the permanent Wyoming mineral
3 trust fund are insufficient to meet the annual spending
4 policy amount specified in subsection (a) of this section
5 and when the balance of the legislative stabilization
6 reserve account is zero dollars ($0.00), the state
7 treasurer shall transfer unobligated funds from the
8 permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund reserve account to the
9 general fund in an amount equal to the amount the
10 investment earnings from the permanent Wyoming mineral
11 trust fund are insufficient to meet the annual spending
12 policy amount specified in subsection (a) of this section,
13 less any funds transferred to the general fund under
14 paragraph (i) of this subsection.
15
16 (d) In any fiscal year or fiscal biennium, funds to be
17 deposited to an account under subsection (b) of this
18 section may be deposited to a different fund or account as
19 specified by a general appropriations bill for state
20 government as determined by the legislature to be necessary
21 to alleviate a budget shortfall or structural budget
22 deficit as defined by W.S. 9-2-1002, or to provide
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1 appropriations to maintain services as determined by the
2 legislature.
3
4 Section 2. W.S. 9-1-507(j)(i), 9-2-1012(e) and by
5 creating a new subsection (j), 9-2-1013(d)(ii), (iii)(B),
6 (iv) and (vi), 9-2-1014.3(a), 9-4-219(a), (b) and by
7 creating a new subsection (d), 9-4-220.1, 9-4-
8 601(d)(intro), (iv), (vii) and (ix), 9-4-714(a)(viii), 9-4-
9 715(q)(i) by creating a new subparagraph (C) and by
10 amending and renumbering (C) as (D), 9-4-719(a)(intro) and
11 by creating a new paragraph (i) and by amending and
12 renumbering (i) as (ii), (b)(intro), (f) and (p), 16-1-
13 111(f), 21-13-306 by creating a new subsection (d), 21-16-
14 720(b), 35-1-1002(a)(vi), 35-11-528(e), 35-11-529(a) and
15 (b), 39-14-801(b)(v) and (vi), (d)(intro) and by creating a
16 new subsection (m) and 39-19-111(a)(intro) are amended to
17 read:
18
19 9-1-507. Examination of books of state institutions,
20 agencies and certain districts and entities; independent
21 audit authorized; guidelines.
22
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1 (j) The director of the department of audit shall
2 certify:
3
4 (i) To the state treasurer and state auditor by
5 October 5 of each year, a list of counties, cities and
6 towns that failed to comply with paragraph (a)(vii) of this
7 section. The state treasurer auditor shall withhold the
8 annual any distribution, which would otherwise be made
9 under W.S. 9-2-1014.1, by any legislative appropriation to
10 any county, city or town failing to comply with paragraph
11 (a)(vii) of this section. The withheld distribution shall
12 be retained in the budget reserve account until the
13 director of the department of audit certifies that the
14 county, city or town has filed the required report. The
15 state auditor shall immediately notify all state agencies
16 and boards of every county, city or town that failed to
17 comply with paragraph (a)(vii) of this section. Upon
18 receipt of notification by the state auditor pursuant to
19 this paragraph, a state agency or board shall withhold
20 state grant and loan payments to every noncompliant county,
21 city or town for the period after October 15 until further
22 notice from the state auditor that a noncompliant county,
23 city or town has come into compliance with paragraph
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1 (a)(vii) of this section. The department of audit shall
2 certify to the state auditor when a county, city or town
3 comes into compliance with paragraph (a)(vii) of this
4 section. The state auditor shall immediately notify all
5 state agencies and boards of every county, city or town
6 that has come into compliance with paragraph (a)(vii) of
7 this section. Any withheld state grant or loan payments
8 shall be retained by the state agency or board in the
9 account from which the disbursement would be made until the
10 state agency or board receives notification from the state
11 auditor that the county, city or town is in compliance with
12 paragraph (a)(vii) of this section, or as otherwise
13 provided by law;
14
15 9-2-1012. Duties of the department; transmittal of
16 standard budget and manual; return of completed exception
17 and expanded budgets; submission to governor; disposition
18 of excess general fund appropriations; disposition of
19 remaining general funds; submission of selected budget
20 information to joint appropriations committee.
21
22 (e) In preparing the overall state budget for
23 distribution to the legislature, including any
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1 supplemental, budget shortfall or other emergency changes
2 to the budget, the governor shall recommend to the
3 legislature that not less than five percent (5%) of
4 estimated general fund receipts for the next biennial
5 budget period shall be appropriated from the general fund
6 to the budget reserve account within the earmarked fund.
7 This appropriation shall be in addition to any fund balance
8 within the budget reserve account. At the end of each
9 biennial budget period, general fund appropriations for the
10 biennium in excess of expenditures including encumbrances
11 during the biennium, as identified by the state auditor in
12 accordance with the provisions of W.S. 9-2-1008 and
13 9-4-207, shall be transferred into the budget reserve
14 account. All funds in the budget reserve account shall be
15 invested by the state treasurer and earnings therefrom
16 shall be credited into the general fund. Appropriations to
17 the account shall not lapse at the end of any fiscal
18 period. Expenditures from the budget reserve account shall
19 be by legislative appropriation only maintained in the
20 general fund as a reserve amount. This general fund reserve
21 amount request shall be separate from all other requests
22 for appropriations during the biennial budget period for
23 which it is recommended. Subject to accrual accounting
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1 principles, any unappropriated, unexpended and unobligated
2 funds in the general fund on June 30 in the last year of
3 each biennial budget period in excess of the general fund
4 reserve amount recommended under this subsection shall be
5 transferred to the legislative stabilization reserve
6 account.
7
8 (j) On June 30, 2028 and on the last day of each
9 succeeding fiscal biennium, the state auditor shall
10 transfer the unobligated, unencumbered fund balance as
11 defined in W.S. 9-2-1002(a)(xxii) of the general fund in
12 excess of the amount specified in subsection (e) of this
13 section under the governor's budget request for that fiscal
14 biennium to the legislative stabilization reserve account.
15
16 9-2-1013. State budget; distribution of copies to
17 legislators; copies and reports of authorizations;
18 interfund loans.
19
20 (d) In addition to the items contained in subsection
21 (a) of this section and notwithstanding any other
22 recommendations made by the governor, the state budget
23 shall also include the governor's recommendations for
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1 appropriations for the ensuing two (2) years, or if a
2 supplemental budget request, the remainder of the budget
3 period, subject to the following:
4
5 (ii) The total recommended appropriations under
6 this subsection for any two (2) fiscal year budget period
7 shall not exceed the total estimated revenues for that two
8 (2) year period. The total estimated revenues computed
9 under this paragraph shall not include increases in
10 existing revenue sources which would be available to the
11 state only after enactment of legislation in addition to
12 existing law, but shall include the unencumbered balances
13 in all other accounts in all other expendable funds subject
14 to this section, and as further provided herein, as those
15 funds are identified in accordance with standards
16 promulgated by the governmental accounting standards board,
17 but specifically excluding pension funds, nonexpendable
18 trust funds, debt service funds and intragovernmental
19 funds, that would be available for that budget period.
20 Funds within the permanent Wyoming mineral trust fund
21 reserve account created under W.S. 9-4-719(b), funds within
22 the common school permanent fund reserve account created
23 under W.S. 9-4-719(f), funds within the legislative
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1 stabilization reserve account in excess of the limitation
2 under subparagraph (iii)(C) of this section, or funds
3 within five percent (5%) of estimated general fund receipts
4 for the next biennium to be appropriated to the budget
5 reserve account as required subsection and the general fund
6 reserve amount specified by W.S. 9-2-1012(e) shall not be
7 included in total estimated revenues computed under this
8 paragraph. Funds from a contingent appropriation shall not
9 be included as an estimated source of revenue or funds
10 available unless those funds previously had been authorized
11 to be expended within the fiscal period covering the budget
12 period of the recommendation;
13
14 (iii) The total recommended appropriations under
15 this subsection shall not include any of the following:
16
17 (B) The transfer of funds from an account
18 to another account; except transfers from the budget
19 reserve account;
20
21 (iv) As used in this subsection,
22 "appropriations" include any of the following:
23
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1 (A) Specific legislative authorization to
2 ex