Conference committee sends long-term homeowner exemption changes back to floors

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Within a 12-minute meeting, a joint conference committee agreed to a final version of a bill to repeal the long-term homeowner exemption’s sunset date.

Joint conference committees are appointed when the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill and the chamber of origin votes not to concur with the changes made down the hall. House Bill 45, “Long-term homeowner tax exemption-revisions,” required a conference committee to clarify provisions passed by the Senate, according to Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper.

The conference committee agreed to an amendment to the bill to clarify that homeowners who use the long-term homeowner exemption cannot also use the people’s initiative if passed by voters at the general election. The initiative would cut Wyoming residential property taxes by 50%.

The bill would repeal the long-term homeowner exemption’s sunset date of July 1, 2027, and change the application deadline from the fourth Monday in May to March 1, which Rep. Jayme Lien, R-Casper, explained would “add some uniformity to the tax calendar” from the House floor earlier this session.

The concurrence agreement now heads to both chambers for a vote. Should it be approved, the bill will head to the governor’s desk.

This story was published on March 4, 2026.