The Appropriations Committee recommended do pass on House Bill 33, a bill that would divert the state‑side portion of sales tax collected on vehicle purchases to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (YDOT) to shore up road maintenance funding.

Chairman Chipman Brown, who re‑referred the bill to Appropriations, told the committee the proposal arose from interim work on a long‑running shortfall in road funding dating to 2017. “What you have before you is a diversion of roughly … $69,000,000 this year,” Brown said, adding the amount would grow by roughly $1,000,000 a year and represent about $140,000,000 per biennium. He framed the move as a policy decision to redirect existing receipts rather than increase taxes.

Darren Westby, director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, told the committee the bill focuses only on the state‑side portion of vehicle sales tax and does not alter local government disbursements. He and other witnesses stressed that YDOT has operated in a preservation‑only mode for many years because flat revenue and inflation have reduced its buying power; the director said a recent federal bridge funding reduction and long‑term reliance on federal dollars have worsened the situation.

Committee members asked where the diverted funds would otherwise go. Chairman Brown said the general fund currently supports many state programs — Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Family Services, state parks and others — and that redirecting $70 million would require offsets elsewhere in the budget. Representatives also discussed other revenue options the interim committee examined but said the panel sought to avoid new taxes.

Several legislators urged the committee to treat the bill as a first bite at a much larger problem. Representative Pendergraft noted state funding for YDOT has been essentially flat for more than a decade and argued roads are a fundamental government responsibility. Representative Wiley, who participated in the interim committee, said the bill provides revenue but also would trigger a required efficiency study for YDOT to look for further savings and improvements.

The Department of Revenue told the committee the proposal would require programming changes to return and report vehicle sales tax separately; committee members said they may see an amendment or floor appropriation to cover an estimated Department of Revenue programming cost of $100,000. After discussion the committee voted to recommend the bill do pass; the roll call recorded seven ayes by Representatives Aleman, Angelos, Haroldson, Pendergraft, Sherwood, Smith and Chairman Bair.