Wyoming Constitutional Amendment A, Local Government Stock Investing Amendment (2022)

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment A
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment A, the Local Government Stock Investing Amendment, was on the ballot in Wyoming as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the Wyoming State Legislature to provide by law for local governments (county, city, township, town, school district, or other political subdivision) to invest funds in stocks and equities and requiring a two-thirds vote of the legislature to establish or increase the percentage of funds a local government could invest.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the Wyoming State Legislature to provide by law for local governments (county, city, township, town, school district, or other political subdivision) to invest funds in stocks and equities.

Election results

Wyoming Constitutional Amendment A
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		103,389	56.78%
No		78,714	43.22%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Constitutional Amendment A do?

See also: Text of measure and constitutional changes

The measure allowed the Wyoming State Legislature to provide by law for local governments (county, city, township, town, school district, or other political subdivision) to invest funds in stocks and equities. Legislation establishing or increasing the percentage of funds a local government could invest require a two-thirds supermajority vote of the state legislature. Going into the election, the state constitution allowed the state legislature to authorize certain state funds to be invested in stocks.

How did this amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the Wyoming State Senate and the Wyoming House of Representatives.

This measure was introduced as House Joint Resolution 9 on March 4, 2021. It was approved in the House on March 23, 2021, by a vote of 43-16. The Senate approved the measure on April 1, 2021, in a vote of 25-5.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

The Wyoming Constitution allows the state to invest state funds in equities such as the stock of corporations, but does not allow the funds of counties, cities and other political subdivisions to be invested in equities. The adoption of this amendment would allow the funds of counties, cities and other political subdivisions to be invested in equities to the extent and in the manner the legislature may allow by law. Any law authorizing the investment of specified political subdivision funds in equities would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 16, Wyoming Constitution

The measure added a new section to Article 16 of the Wyoming Constitution. The following underlined text was added.

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Article 16, Section 6. Loan of credit; donations prohibited; investment of funds; works of internal improvement.

(a) Neither the state nor any county, city, township, town, school district, or any other political subdivision, shall:

(i) Loan or give its credit or make donations to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation, except for necessary support of the poor; or

(ii) Subscribe to or become the owner of the capital stock of any association or corporation, except that:

(A) Funds of public employee retirement systems and the permanent funds of the state of Wyoming may be invested in such stock under conditions the legislature prescribes;

(B) The legislature may provide by law for the investment of funds not designated as permanent funds of the state in the capital stock of any association or corporation and may designate which of these funds may be invested. The legislature may prescribe different investment conditions for each fund. Any legislation establishing or increasing the percentage of any fund that may be invested under this subparagraph shall be passed only by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members of each of the two (2) houses voting separately.

(C) The legislature may provide by law for the investment of county, city, township, town, school district, or any other political subdivision's funds in the capital stock of any association or corporation and may designate which of these funds may be invested. The legislature may prescribe different investment conditions for each type and class of political subdivision and for each type of fund. Any legislation establishing or increasing the percentage of any fund that may be invested under this subparagraph shall be passed only by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members of each of the two (2) houses voting separately.

(b) The state shall not engage in any work of internal improvement unless authorized by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the people.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 17, and the FRE is 27. The word count for the ballot title is 94.

Support

The following elected officials sponsored the amendment in the state legislature.

Officials

• State Sen. James Anderson (R)
• State Sen. Dan Furphy (R)
• State Sen. Mike Gierau (D)
• State Sen. John Kolb (R)
• State Rep. Aaron Clausen (R)
• State Rep. Shelly Duncan (R)
• State Rep. Steve Harshman (R)
• State Rep. Bill Henderson (R)
• State Rep. Tom Walters (R)

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify committees, organizations, or individuals opposing the ballot initiative. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Wyoming ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

The 2022 primary election campaign finance report was due on August 9, 2022.

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

State fund stock investments

See also: Wyoming Investing State Funds in Corporate Stock, Amendment C (1996)

Amendment C was placed on the statewide ballot in Wyoming by the Wyoming State Legislature in 1996. It was approved by voters in a vote of 63.83% in favor to 36.17% opposed. The amendment allowed state funds to be invested in corporate stocks under conditions prescribed by the legislature.

In 2016, Wyoming voters approved Constitutional Amendment A, which allowed the state legislature to invest additional state funds in the stock market. Prior to the approval of Constitutional Amendment A, the state legislature could only invest funds designated as permanent funds and the public employee retirement system funds in stocks.

As of December 31, 2021, the Wyoming State Treasurer's Office invested $25.05 billion of the state's funds in stocks. Nine funds are authorized to invest a certain percentage of their funds in stocks:

• the Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund (70%);
• the Permanent Land Funds (70%);
• the Hathaway Scholarship Endowment Fund (70%);
• the Excellence in Higher Education Endowment Fund (70%);
• the Worker's Compensation Fund (45%),
• Pool A (funds for Culture, Wildlife Trust, Game and Fish, Wyoming Public Television, and the Tobacco Settlement Fund);
• the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account; and
• the State Agency Pool.

The interest from the investments provided for around 30% of the state's annual spending budget.

Local government investments

The Master Investment Policy and Sub Investment Policies for the State of Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board, composed of the Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is responsible for the state's investment policy, including approval of investments for local government entities. According to the board's July 2021 master investment policy update, local governments were allowed to invest in diversified non-levered investment grate corporate bonds.

Wyoming ballot measures, 2000-2020

• Between 2000 and 2020, 20 measures appeared on the ballot in Wyoming.
• From 2000 and 2020, an average of two measures appeared on the ballot in even-numbered years.
• Between 2000 and 2020, 12 of 20 measures (60%) were approved, and 8 of 20 measures (40%) were defeated.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 2000-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
20	12	60%	8	40%	2	2	0	4

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Wyoming Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the Wyoming State Senate and the Wyoming House of Representatives.

This measure was introduced as House Joint Resolution 9 on March 4, 2021. It was approved in the House on March 23, 2021, by a vote of 43-16. The Senate approved an amended version of the measure on April 1, 2021, in a vote of 25-5, which was sent to the House for concurrence. The House concurred with the Senate's amendments on April 1, 2021, in a vote of 46-13.

Vote in the Wyoming State Senate April 1, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 20  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	25	5	0
Total percent	83.33%	16.67%	0.00%
Democrat	2	0	0
Republican	23	5	0

Vote in the Wyoming House of Representatives April 1, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 40  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	46	13	1
Total percent	76.67%	21.67%	1.67%
Democrat	7	0	0
Republican	38	12	1
Independent	1	1	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Wyoming

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Wyoming.

How to cast a vote in Wyoming

Poll times In Wyoming, all polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter information here. To vote in Wyoming, one must be a United States citizen, a resident of Wyoming, at least 18 years of age, not have been declared mentally incompetent by a court, and not convicted of a felony unless pardoned or otherwise had their rights restored. The registration deadline is 14 days before the election, but voters may also register and vote on the same day during the absentee voting period or on election day. There are three ways to register to vote in Wyoming: in person at the office of the county or town clerk, by mail the by submitting a completed application form to the county clerk, or at the polls on Election Day. A voter must provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. Automatic registration Wyoming does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Wyoming does not permit online voter registration. Same-day registration Wyoming allows same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Wyoming, a voter must be a resident of a precinct in the state for not less than 30 days before the election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Wyoming requires voters to provide proof of citizenship. Eligible documents are state and tribal IDs that do not indicate the individual is not a U.S. citizen, passports, certificates of citizenship or naturalization, a selective service registration acknowledgement card, documentation of a birth abroad issued by the State Department, or an original or certified copy of a birth certificate. Voter ID requirements Wyoming requires voters to present identification when voting. Generally, voters are required to present a photo ID, but there are two exceptions to that requirement that expire in 2029. The following list of accepted ID was current as of June 2025. Click here for the Wyoming Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information. “ WY Driver's License or ID Card Tribal ID Card US Passport US Military Card DL or ID Card from Another State University of Wyoming Student ID Wyoming Community College Student ID Wyoming Public School Student ID Valid Medicare Insurance Card* Valid Medicaid Insurance Card* Valid Wyoming Concealed Firearm Permit *Medicare and Medicaid insurance cards will no longer be an acceptable form of identification for voting purposes after December 31st, 2029. ”

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Budgets on the ballot

Wyoming

• Wyoming ballot measures
• Wyoming ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• HJ 0009 full text and bill information