The bill modifies the Wyoming cultural trust fund and the Wyoming wildlife and natural resource trust account by removing their inviolate status, which allows for enhanced investment opportunities. It introduces new spending policies that enable the investment of earnings from these funds, redirecting those earnings back into the fund's corpus. A new income account is established for both trust funds, which will include various contributions and earnings, and the state treasurer is assigned specific responsibilities for managing these funds. The bill also sets a spending policy that permits a percentage of the funds' average market value to be allocated for grants supporting cultural and natural resource initiatives.

Key changes include the deletion of language that previously designated the funds as permanent or perpetual trusts, thereby allowing for more flexible investment strategies. The state treasurer is authorized to invest unobligated balances in equities, and a structured approach for calculating the spending policy based on a five-year average market value is outlined. Additionally, the bill establishes the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Account Board, which will evaluate grant applications for wildlife and natural resource projects, with specific provisions for small and large projects. Grants are restricted to nonprofit and governmental organizations, and funds cannot be used for acquiring state-held real property or water rights. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2024, with certain spending limits on trust fund income accounts not applying to funds deposited before that date.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 9-2-2302, 9-2-2303, 9-2-2304, 9-2-2306, 9-2-2307, 9-15-103, 9-15-104, 9-15-105, 9-4-715