skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A potent winter storm is thumping 1,500 miles of the US. Two more are right behind it; Amid scientists' warnings, Trump admin. sued over medical research cuts; Mississippi communities find local solutions to rural education challenges; CT groups rally against gas pipeline expansion.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Donald Trump approves 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Democrats who oppose dismantling the agency have been denied access to the Department of Education. And some places buck policy trends on sex education and immigration.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Big tax talk expected in WY general session

play audio
Play

Wednesday, January 15, 2025   

One topic expected to make a big splash during Wyoming's general legislative session is property taxes at many levels.

First on the agenda for the Freedom Caucus, Wyoming's House majority faction, is a 25% property tax cut on homes up to $2 million in value, passed by both chambers in 2024. Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed it, calling the fix "temporary and very expensive," as the state would have to pay the backfill.

Hank Hoversland, executive director of the Wyoming Taxpayers Association, said another piece at play is a state constitutional amendment voters passed in November.

"That provides the legislature a vehicle to make a separate class for property taxation purposes, that is, residential real property," Hoversland explained. "Then, it also allows there to be a subclass for owner-occupied, single-family residences."

Though the amendment passed, Hoversland pointed out legislators need to take action this session in order to give the change legs.

At the industry level, Wyoming law includes a property tax exemption for "property used to eliminate, control or prevent air, water or land pollution." Senate File 61, sponsored by Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, would clarify carbon dioxide shouldn't count as pollution so the state can tax incoming carbon capture projects.

Hoversland stressed energy companies pay a large portion of taxes in the state.

"Just this past tax year, minerals paid about 46% of property taxes, while the all-other category -- including industrial, commercial, residential and ag -- paid 54% total," Hoversland outlined.

Earlier this month, the state also certified the first Wyoming citizen's ballot initiative in 30 years, slated to appear on ballots in 2026. It proposes cutting residential property taxes by 50% for homeowners who have lived in Wyoming for at least one year.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A Sierra Club report found moving to offshore wind instead of building up natural gas can reduce 42% (14 million short tons) of annual CO2 emissions from New England's power sector. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Connecticut groups are rallying today against a natural gas pipeline expansion. Project Maple would extend Enbridge's natural-gas pipeline …


Social Issues

play sound

In rural Mississippi, where education disparities run deep, community leaders are stepping up to fill the gaps left by limited resources and …

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups are raising alarms as the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township moves closer to becoming the first decommissioned nuclear pl…


Around 72% of Montanans believe workers' unions help Montana's economy, according to a January poll from the bipartisan firm RABA Research. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

A January survey of Montanans showed a large majority support workers' rights, even as several bills that could affect them move through the state …

Social Issues

play sound

Events for Black History Month are being held around the U.S. In South Dakota, leaders of the state's main history museum, which is currently under …

A Red America, Blue America Research survey revealed a majority of voters, 52%, would be less likely to support legislators who voted to fund private education with tax dollars. (Rawpixel/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A recent online survey revealed strong opposition among Tennessee voters toward expansion of the state's private-school voucher program. More than 50…

Social Issues

play sound

A northwest Texas family is waiting to hear from agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a recent traffic stop. Jose is in the country …

Environment

play sound

West Virginia has thousands of unplugged and improperly plugged oil and gas wells that could leak and contaminate groundwater, potentially harming …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021