Bill aims to keep Wyoming fossil fuel producers in the State

CHEYENNE, WYO. – SF84 passed out of the Senate Minerals Committee this afternoon with a 4-1 vote. The bill aims to keep Wyoming fossil fuel producers working in the State and comes as reports swirl about the U.S. Bureau of Land Management considering raising the oil and gas royalty tax rate from the current 12.5% to over 18% on minerals extracted on federal lands.

In Wyoming, the State receives almost half of the federal mineral royalty tax; therefore, an increase in the tax eventually increases the state’s dependency on the mineral industry for tax revenue. In the proposed bill draft, this would change. The draft language directs the State Treasurer’s Office to issue a check to each producer that would be “equal to” the state’s share of the federal royalty rate increase as of July 1, 2023.

“The Biden Administration hopes they can raise the mineral tax and Wyoming will remain silent because more money will be coming into the State’s coffers,” said Senator Boner. “But in Wyoming, that’s not how we do things; we don’t tax our industry partners out of the State.”

“What this draft bill does is two things: one, it provides assurances to the oil, gas and coal industries that we’ve got your back, and two, the State should not profit from this Administration’s fossil fuel war.”

“Wyoming must remain a competitive place for industry to do business. If the oil and gas industry leaves because the feds hike up the tax, it leaves a giant gaping hole – not just in federal royalty tax monies that come to the State but in our communities that lose jobs when industry leaves. We can’t sit back, we must be proactive.”

The bill moves to the Senate floor for debate.