Bill signed allowing cities and towns to invest in equities
March 7, 2025
CASPER, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon signed SF0145 into law this week, allowing cities and other local governments to invest in equities and corporate stocks.
Sponsored by Laramie County Senator Tara Nethercott, the bill provides a framework by which the local government investor assumes all risk, establishes an advisory board and submits investment policy statements to the State Loan and Investment Board.
It took a voter-approved amendment to the Wyoming Constitution in 2022 to lay the groundwork.
The state has been able to invest in equities since 1996, and currently has savings over $30 billion. The state’s largest investment fund, the $11 billion Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund, is made up of 54% equities, which are backed by stakeholder shares in private companies.
City of Casper Financial Services Director Jill Johnson told the legislative committee last fall that city investments were limited to bonds and investment pools administered through the state treasurer’s office. She wrote in a letter to the committee that Casper’s investments were valued at $191 million and had generated $4.7 million near the end of the fiscal year.
Johnson also suggested provisions to limit “day-trading”–type behaviors, and the committee entertained the idea of capping the percentage that equities could represent in a portfolio.
The final bill retains the requirement that investing governments establish financial advisory boards. The policy statements submitted to the state are to include conditions comparable to the requirements for state investments, according to the Legislative Services Office.
The law takes full effect on July 1. Laramie County Sen. Tara Nethercott was the sponsor.
Search
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
