Outdoor recreation funding bill lives on in the House

After failing introduction in the Senate, a mirror bill advancing in the House is keeping alive the discussion of how the newly created Wyoming outdoor recreation and tourism trust fund allocates grants to state projects.

House Bill 67 – Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund Administration-2, would establish a nine-person board as well as rules for allocating grants from the trust fund that Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law in 2023.

The Senate version, SF 40, was sponsored by the Legislature’s Joint Travel Committee — normally a signal that it would be prioritized for introduction. Despite that, it failed introduction on a vote of 18-13. Lawmakers have rejected more committee bills than normal this session, stoking tensions among the various factions in the statehouse.

However, Rep. Sandy Newsome (R-Cody), the travel committee’s co-chair, had sponsored a mirror bill in the House as a backup measure. On Wednesday, representatives voted 50-10-1 to introduce HB 67 and referred it to the House Travel Committee.

After an amendment, committee members advanced it 8-0 with one excused.

Why it matters

More people are coming to Wyoming to recreate. The state’s outdoor recreation economy increased to $2.02 billion, or 4.1% of the state’s GDP in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. That number is up from $1.5 billion in 2021.

Advocates say Wyoming should take the steering wheel now to help guide the industry’s growth and ensure crowds don’t negatively impact the state’s wildlife and landscapes. The effort, in the works for years, chalked a major victory in 2023 when the Legislature created a $6 million trust fund to generate grants for trail building, camping infrastructure and other such developments.

Lawmakers didn’t, however, provide a way to spend the money, leaving the trust fund idle.

That’s where HB 67 comes in. It would create a nine-member trust account board appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, which would include resident representatives of Wyoming’s judicial districts. Wyoming’s Office of Outdoor Recreation manager would act as secretary.

The board would consider applications, and may award any grant under $200,000. Projects exceeding $200,000 would need approval from the Legislature’s Select Committee on Natural Resources.

Grants could be for planning, design, construction and maintenance of outdoor recreational infrastructure, or for the acquisition of public access easements necessary to enhance outdoor recreational infrastructure. Eligible applicants would include municipalities, tribal governments and nonprofits.

What they said

Many people expressed support for the bill during Thursday’s committee meeting.

“It’s been a long time coming, and I’m glad it’s here,” said Wyoming Wildlife Federation Government Affairs Director Jess Johnson.

“We really feel like this is a win with every county,” said Chris Brown with the Wyoming Hospitality and Travel Coalition.

“We fully support it because we believe this industry, in order to grow and to meet diverse needs across Wyoming, we need to have investments in infrastructure that will help communities design right-sized growth for themselves based on Wyoming’s terms,” said Steff Kessler, representing the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Business Alliance.

“I’m happy to say that this morning we voted to support this bill wholeheartedly,” said Fremont County Commissioner Mike Jones, who spoke on behalf of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.

Joint Travel Committee co-chair Sen. Wendy Schuler (R-Evanston) also stopped in to remind the room that a lot of work went into the legislation during the interim, or off-season.

“Maybe this side of the house is getting things done in a better fashion,” she said.