Ballot initiative to cut property taxes in half won't appear on 2024 ballot
Feb. 14—CHEYENNE — A citizen-led ballot initiative designed to cut property tax bills in half for Wyoming homeowners won't appear on this year's general election ballot.
A spokesperson with the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office confirmed Wednesday that the ballot initiative, "People's Initiative to Limit Property Tax in Wyoming through a Homeowner's Property Exemption," was not filed with the office by the deadline.
Brent Bien, a former candidate for Wyoming governor, is the main force behind the initiative. He told the WTE he was unaware of the deadline, and said the ballot initiative is close to gathering the needed 29,730 signatures, with 15% of voters from at least 16 of Wyoming's 23 counties. All signatures have to be certified before the ballot initiative is approved.
Bien and his committee of applicants have 18 months since "they first received petitions to gather the requisite number of signatures to appear on the ballot in a future election," according to an email from Joe Rubino, chief policy officer and general counsel of the Secretary of State's Office.
Bien said the initiative has gathered more than 40,000 voter signatures since they began collecting after Secretary of State Chuck Gray officially certified the property tax initiative in late September. Despite missing the filing deadline, Bien said they still have plans to put the initiative on the 2026 general election ballot.
"We're very close to getting the requisite number," Bien told the WTE.
When the WTE informed Bien of the fact that signatures had to be submitted by last Friday, or before the start of the legislative session that began Monday, in order to appear on this year's November ballot, he said, "It's hard to tell when it's actually due."
"We've got at least 15% of the 16 requisite counties, but we're just looking to have a greater degree of confidence (that we have enough signatures)," Bien said.
When told of the April 13, 2025, deadline for the 2026 election ballot, he responded that he had "never heard that before."
In the meantime, Bien said he and his team will continue to collect signatures for the initiative to appear in the next election cycle.
Many lawmakers have criticized the proposed ballot measure, saying it would result in severe loss of revenue that funds local county services. Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, told the WTE in September it was "highly unlikely" this loss in revenue would be backfilled by the Legislature.
In response to this criticism, Bien pointed to the billions in savings in the state's "rainy-day" fund, or the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account. Members of the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee recently recommended a 2025-26 biennium budget that would put $45 million more into savings than Gov. Mark Gordon suggested in his proposed spending plan.
"Taxes are still going to go up. This is a Band-Aid on a very bad system," Bien said.
The purpose of the ballot initiative, he said, is to "give some respite" for people who are about to lose their home. Property tax relief is a hot topic going into this year's budget session, with a variety of proposals on the table.
Seven bills regarding property taxes received enough introductory votes on Tuesday to be discussed in the House Revenue Committee, and the conversation will continue in that committee Thursday.
Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.
