| 1 | 1 | | 2025 |
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| 2 | 2 | | STATE OF WYOMING |
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| 3 | 3 | | 25LSO-02461SJ0010 |
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| 4 | 4 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. SJ0010 |
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| 5 | 5 | | Legislative and executive authority-taxation and spending. |
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| 6 | 6 | | Sponsored by: Senator(s) Laursen, D, Biteman, McKeown and |
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| 7 | 7 | | Smith, D and Representative(s) Allemand, Bear, |
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| 8 | 8 | | Haroldson, Locke and Wharff |
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| 9 | 9 | | A JOINT RESOLUTION |
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| 10 | 10 | | for |
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| 11 | 11 | | 1 A JOINT RESOLUTION to amend the Wyoming Constitution to |
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| 12 | 12 | | 2 specify that the power and control of taxation and spending |
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| 13 | 13 | | 3 belongs to the legislative department and the executive |
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| 14 | 14 | | 4 department as specified. |
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| 15 | 15 | | 5 |
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| 16 | 16 | | 6 |
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| 17 | 17 | | 7 two-thirds of all the members of the two houses, voting |
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| 18 | 18 | | 8 separately, concurring therein: |
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| 19 | 19 | | 9 |
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| 20 | 20 | | 10 The following proposal to amend the Wyoming |
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| 21 | 21 | | 11 Constitution by creating Article 2, Section 2 is proposed for |
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| 22 | 22 | | 12 submission to the electors of the State of Wyoming at the |
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| 23 | 23 | | 13 next general election for approval or rejection to become |
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| 24 | 24 | | 14 valid as a part of the Constitution if ratified by a majority |
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| 25 | 25 | | 15 of the electors at the election: 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02462SJ00101 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2 |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3 |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4 (a) The power of taxation and spending is reserved to |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5 the people and to the legislative department and the executive |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6 department. The legislature may by law delegate local taxing |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7 and spending power to political subdivisions, provided that |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8 the power of taxation and spending is exercised by persons |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9 whose elected term of office does not exceed four (4) years. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 10 For the creation of debt authorized by this constitution, the |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11 legislature may by law delegate the payment of debt service |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12 and the establishment of taxation rates to accomplish that |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13 service to the executive branch as a ministerial task, and |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14 the judicial department may enforce the performance of these |
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| 39 | 39 | | 15 duties. |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 17 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this |
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| 42 | 42 | | 18 constitution, for the operating costs of the public schools, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 19 the legislature shall provide a formula for funding, and that |
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| 44 | 44 | | 20 formula shall be subject to judicial review for |
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| 45 | 45 | | 21 constitutional compliance. The legislature shall fund the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 22 formula by appropriation and the amount of this appropriation |
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| 47 | 47 | | 23 shall not be subject to judicial review. In the event the 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02463SJ0010 |
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| 48 | 48 | | 1 appropriation is insufficient to fund the spending provided |
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| 49 | 49 | | 2 by the formula, the spending shall be reduced by a uniform |
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| 50 | 50 | | 3 percentage. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 4 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 5 That the Secretary of State shall endorse |
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| 53 | 53 | | 6 the following statement on the proposed amendment: |
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| 54 | 54 | | 7 |
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| 55 | 55 | | 8 The Wyoming Constitution divides the powers of government |
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| 56 | 56 | | 9 into three branches: the legislative, executive and judicial |
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| 57 | 57 | | 10 branches. No branch shall exercise any powers properly |
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| 58 | 58 | | 11 belonging to the other branches unless the Constitution |
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| 59 | 59 | | 12 expressly permits it. |
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| 60 | 60 | | 13 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-02464SJ0010 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 1 This amendment would expressly provide that the power of |
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| 62 | 62 | | 2 taxation and spending belongs only to the legislative and |
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| 63 | 63 | | 3 executive branches of state government. The amendment would |
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| 64 | 64 | | 4 allow the legislature to delegate taxation and spending |
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| 65 | 65 | | 5 authority to political subdivisions and would allow the |
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| 66 | 66 | | 6 legislature to delegate ministerial tasks to the executive |
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| 67 | 67 | | 7 branch, with the judicial branch authorized to enforce the |
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| 68 | 68 | | 8 performance of those delegated duties. For funding |
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| 69 | 69 | | 9 operational costs of public schools, the legislature would be |
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| 70 | 70 | | 10 required to develop a funding formula, which would be subject |
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| 71 | 71 | | 11 to judicial review. The amount of any appropriation based on |
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| 72 | 72 | | 12 the formula would not be subject to judicial review. If the |
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| 73 | 73 | | 13 legislature's appropriation is insufficient to fund the |
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| 74 | 74 | | 14 spending provided by the formula, then expenditures for |
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| 75 | 75 | | 15 school funding would be reduced uniformly. |
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| 76 | 76 | | 16 |
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| 77 | 77 | | 17 (END) |
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