Wyoming Realtors Spent Nearly $550,000 to Pass Property Tax Amendment

Lori Urbigkit, director of government relations for Wyoming Realtors and treasurer of the political action committee 4Wyoming, said the proposed constitutional amendment to create a separate tax class for residential properties in Wyoming is something Realtors have been waiting for a long time.

“For years we thought we should have a fourth floor for residential use,” she said. “We’ve always been behind it and always wanted to do it.

“Our long-standing position is to support any legislation that helps people stay in their homes. There are too many people in really difficult situations.”

Voters will decide the fate of Amendment A on Tuesday, and Wyoming realtors are scrambling to pass it, spending $544,047 this fall to persuade voters to vote yes on Amendment A, according to the latest campaign finance report released Friday. This included creating a website, billboard and web advertising.

“We did everything I could think of at this point,” Urbigkit said.

By comparison, no other statewide independent PAC spent as much money during Wyoming’s election season this year or in 2022.

4Wyoming’s spending represents the PAC’s largest spending since Right For Wyoming, the finance arm of U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign in Wyoming, spent $650,000 on that year’s primary.

The Wyoming Freedom Cattlemen spent $31,411 this general election season, almost all of it to oppose Amendment A, said its treasurer Michelle McGuire.

Freedom Cattlemen ran various advertisements opposing the amendment, including one describing it as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” “deliberately deceitful,” and a “bogus property tax break.” Another announcement from the group attempted to draw comparisons between Wyoming and Colorado if the amendment were to pass.

Liberty’s Place 4U, a prominent conservative group in Casper, also campaigned against the amendment on Facebook but did not spend any money on it.

Many members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus also spoke out against the amendment.

When it passed the House of Representatives on third reading in 2023, 15 lawmakers who are members of or politically affiliated with the group voted in favor of it.

Specific reasons for opposition to the amendment ranged from concerns that it could raise property taxes to concerns that it could lead to higher taxes in other sectors to maintain current levels of government spending.

Urbigkit said she has yet to hear a compelling reason to oppose the amendment.

“It’s absolutely a scare tactic when they say things like this raise taxes,” she said.

Why so many?

Urbigkit said there are several reasons why Realtors were so interested in trying to pass the amendment, which she considers “a really big issue.”

Their greatest role is in advocating for the interests of Wyoming homeowners. Urbigkit considers Wyoming Realtors to be the only organization dedicated exclusively to this group of people.

Some people may question whether a realtor’s help goes beyond the process of buying and selling a home, but Urbigkit said that for any reputable real estate agent it does, considering the average length of time people stay in a home is only seven years.

“If you’re a good Realtor, you connect with people and help them,” she said. “They refer you to their friends and become like family to you in a way.”

Urbigkit said 4Wyoming was specifically created to allow her to receive money from Realtors and non-Realtors, the latter group she said also donated significant sums to the cause. The group said 100% of its donations come through the Wyoming Organization of Realtors.

“It concerns me that one particular interest group can influence so many Wyoming Realtors,” McGuire said.

State Sen. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, is a real estate agent by profession and supports the amendment.

Jones said another part of the amendment that Realtors like is the ability to separate residential properties into a separate tax subclass, separate from commercial and agricultural properties. This opens up much easier opportunities to tax residential properties at a lower rate, she said.

“Goal No. 1 is responsible housing taxation,” Jones said.

McGuire believes creating a separate residential property subclass would mean picking winners and losers among the various tax classes.

“We are against dividing and conquering smaller subclasses of people,” she said.

Jones said Wyoming Realtors received a significant financial grant from the National Association of Realtors, which also helped their re-election campaign. Urbigkit said they have also had particularly successful fundraising efforts in Jackson.

Wider issues

McGuire said she spoke with several realtors in Wheatland who were unaware of the group’s lobbying activities and were offended that the group would take such steps on their behalf.

She also mentioned how Colorado proposed a constitutional amendment in 2023 that would lower the assessed values ​​of many classes of real estate, including some new subclasses of real estate. This amendment was rejected by Colorado voters by a margin of 60% to 40%.

“Playing the same card here makes us nervous,” McGuire said.

Sen. Bob Ide, a Casper Republican, works in commercial real estate. Ide is concerned that if the amendment passes, any future reduction in property taxes will simply shift the tax burden to other classes of property.

He also said Realtors could be better off spending their money by campaigning for candidates who would cut overall government spending in Wyoming.

“All Wyoming taxpayers would benefit greatly from having more fiscal conservatives in state political office who would work to pass significant tax reform legislation … associated with significant spending cuts,” he said. “Nothing is really going to change by simply moving property tax targets without making significant budget cuts.”

In 2026, Wyoming voters will likely be offered a property tax initiative that would cut taxes for most homeowners by 50%. Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, said the only way to make the effort legal is to pass Amendment A.

“Passing a constitutional amendment is the only way to achieve long-term tax relief in Wyoming,” he said.

Urbigkit said she is cautiously optimistic the amendment will pass. She also held workshops in three different parts of the state to talk about the amendment and what it does.

“We were received well, a lot of people seemed to understand it,” Urbigkit said. “We did everything we could to keep voters informed, we left no stone unturned.”

4Wyoming spent $16,000 on the Cowboy State Daily as part of its advertising efforts.

Leo Wolfson can be contacted at [email protected].