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2006 Budget Session
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HB 61 is identical to a bill that made it partway through the 2005 legislative session before expiring. The bill created a sales and use tax exemption for new coal gasification or coal liquefaction facilities, otherwise known as value added facilities.
Wyoming collects a statewide sales and use tax of 4% on retail sales of tangible personal property and many other products and activities, defined in state statute. Counties are permitted to add up to two cents more per dollar in sales and use tax. Wyoming's statutes also provide a number of specific exemptions to the state sales tax.
HB 61 exempted the sale of equipment used to construct new coal gasification or coal liquefaction facilities in Wyoming. The exemption was justified as an economic incentive to companies in the coal gasification and coal liquefaction industry.
HB 61 required that companies taking advantage of the tax exemption annually disclose employment history, including the number of employees (broken into full-time and part-time employees) and the rate of employee turnover. Companies also must report a history of wages and benefits paid, disaggregated by gender, and taxes paid to the state.
The Legislative Service Office estimated the state would lose between $9.4 million and $62.4 million in tax revenue for each facility constructed.
Supporters believed that companies in the coal gasification and liquefaction industries needed the economic incentive provided by HB 61 to encourage them to build new facilities using these technologies in Wyoming.
Opponents argued generally against tax exemptions that favor single special interest groups or particular industries, as HB 61 did. Opponents pointed out that ordinary citizens and small business interests don't receive the same degree of legislative interest and tax protection as special interest groups, because they don't have the same lobbying presence at the Legislature as powerful special interest groups have. Opponents also noted that large energy companies such as those in the coal gasification or liquefaction industry certainly have the resources to pay sales tax on the construction of new facilities.
The House passed HB 61, 48-9 (2 excused, 1 conflict of interest), and the Senate passed the bill, 20-10. The votes listed below are House and Senate third reading (final passage) votes. A YES vote means the legislator supported giving a sales tax exemption to companies for new construction of coal liquefaction or coal gasification facilities. A NO vote means the legislator did not support giving this tax break to large energy companies.
| Bighorn Basin Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
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| S 18 | Hank Coe (R) | Yes | |
| H 24 | Colin Simpson (R) | Yes | |
| H 50 | Pat Childers (R) | Yes | |
| S 19 | Ray Peterson (R) | Yes | |
| H 25 | Alan Jones (R) | Yes | |
| H 26 | Elaine Harvey (R) | Yes | |
| S 20 | Gerald E. Geis (R) | Yes | |
| H 27 | Debbie Hammons (D) | Yes | |
| H 28 | Lorraine Quarberg (R) | Yes | |
| Casper-Area Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 27 | John Barrasso (R) | Yes | |
| H 35 | Roy Cohee (R) | Yes | |
| H 36 | Gerald Gay (R) | Yes | |
| S 28 | Kit Jennings (R) | Yes | |
| H 56 | Tom Walsh (R) | Yes | |
| H 57 | Thomas A. Lockhart (R) | Yes | |
| S 29 | Bill Hawks (R) | Yes | |
| H 37 | Steve Harshman (R) | Yes | |
| H 59 | Mary Gilmore (D) | No | |
| S 30 | Charles K. Scott (R) | No | |
| H 38 | Bob Brechtel (R) | Yes | |
| H 58 | Ann Robinson (D) | No | |
| Cheyenne-Area Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 4 | Tony Ross (R) | No | |
| H 7 | Doug Samuelson (R) | Yes | |
| H 41 | Becket Hinckley (R) | Yes | |
| S 5 | John Hanes (R) | Yes | |
| H 8 | Larry Meuli (R) | Yes | |
| H 42 | Pete Illoway (R) | Yes | |
| S 6 | Wayne H. Johnson (R) | No | |
| H 9 | Bryan Pedersen (R) | Yes | |
| H 10 | Rodney "Pete" Anderson (R) | Yes | |
| S 7 | Kathryn Sessions (D) | Yes | |
| H 11 | Wayne Reese (D) | No | |
| H 43 | Dan Zwonitzer (R) | Yes | |
| S 8 | E. Jayne Mockler (D) | No | |
| H 12 | Layton Morgan (D) | No | |
| H 44 | Floyd Esquibel (D) | No | |
| Gillette-Area Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 23 | John Hines (R) | Yes | |
| H 31 | Thomas E. Lubnau II (R) | Yes | |
| H 52 | Burke Jackson (R) | Yes | |
| S 24 | Michael Von Flatern (R) | Yes | |
| H 32 | Jeff Wasserburger (R) | Yes | |
| H 53 | Erin Mercer (R) | Yes | |
| Lander/Riverton-Area Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 25 | Cale Case (R) | No | |
| H 33 | W. Patrick Goggles (D) | Yes | |
| H 54 | Del McOmie (R) | Yes | |
| S 26 | Robert A. Peck (R) | Yes | |
| H 34 | Frank Philp (R) | Yes | |
| H 55 | David Miller (R) | Yes | |
| Northeast/East Central WY Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 1 | C.L. Townsend (R) | Yes | |
| H 1 | Mark Semlek (R) | Yes | |
| H 2 | Ross Diercks (D) | Yes | |
| S 2 | Jim Anderson (R) | Yes | |
| H 5 | James C. Hageman (R) | Yes | |
| H 6 | Dave Edwards (R) | Conflict | |
| S 3 | Curt Meier (R) | Yes | |
| H 3 | Deborah Alden (R) | Yes | |
| H 4 | Edward A. Buchanan (R) | Yes | |
| Sheridan-Area Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 21 | Bruce Burns (R) | Yes | |
| H 29 | Jerry Iekel (R) | Yes | |
| H 51 | Rosie Berger (R) | Yes | |
| S 22 | John Schiffer (R) | No | |
| H 30 | Jack Landon (R) | No | |
| H 40 | Doug Osborn (R) | Yes | |
| South Central WY Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 9 | Mike Massie (D) | No | |
| H 13 | Jane Warren (D) | No | |
| H 45 | Kevin A. White (R) | Yes | |
| S 10 | Phil Nicholas (R) | No | |
| H 14 | Kermit C. Brown (R) | Yes | |
| H 46 | James Slater (R) | Yes | |
| S 11 | Bill Vasey (D) | Yes | |
| H 15 | George Bagby (D) | Yes | |
| H 47 | Kurt Bucholz (R) | Excused | |
| Southwest WY Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 12 | Rae Lynn Job (D) | No | |
| H 48 | Marty Martin (D) | Yes | |
| H 16 | Pete Jorgensen (D) | No | |
| S 13 | Tex Boggs (D) | Yes | |
| H 17 | Stephen Watt (R) | Excused | |
| H 60 | Bill Thompson (D) | No | |
| S 14 | Stan Cooper (R) | Yes | |
| H 18 | Mick Powers (R) | Yes | |
| H 39 | John Hastert (D) | Yes | |
| S 15 | Ken Decaria (D) | No | |
| H 19 | Owen Petersen (R) | Yes | |
| H 49 | Bruce Barnard (R) | Yes | |
| West Central WY Legislators | House 3rd 2/20/06 | Senate 3rd 3/3/06 |
|
| S 16 | Pat Aullman (R) | Yes | |
| H 20 | Kathy Davison (R) | Yes | |
| H 21 | Randall Luthi (R) | Yes | |
| S 17 | Grant Larson (R) | Yes | |
| H 22 | Monte Olsen (R) | Yes | |
| H 23 | Keith Gingery (R) | Yes | |
See Southwest Region for H 16 and S 12 | |||