(Lander, WY) – Senator Cale Case spoke to the Lander Rotary Club on Wednesday and due to unforeseen circumstances, County 10 was unable to be in attendance. However, Rotarian Jerry Venters sent us a recap of the legislative preview, which is shared below.
The State of Wyoming is “flush with money right now,” with perhaps two years of excess revenue on hand, but tax reform is needed, Senator Cale Case told the Lander Rotary Club in a legislative review in Lander on Wednesday.
Case said the state doesn’t have a sustainable tax system but added that the Legislature isn’t likely to do anything in the next two years to reform the system. “I’ve been told there won’t be any changes for the next two years,” he said. “It’s dialed in.”
Wyoming is at the bottom of the states in the level of property taxes levied and doesn’t impose sales taxes on “hundreds of things,” Case said. Adding a tax on food, while regressive, would not be as regressive as in other states because Wyoming has very few other taxes.
Turning to other topics, Case advocated expanding Medicaid insurance coverage to more people. “States all around us have adopted Medicaid expansion, and Wyoming is suffering without it…Many people have no health insurance and no safety net,” he said. “I believe a majority of the people are pro-choice, support Medicaid expansion and favor legalizing medical marijuana,” Case asserted.