A property-tax-relief bill championed by Rep. Monte Olsen, R-Daniel, was defeated Friday on the floor of the Wyoming House of Representatives.

House Joint Resolution 3 would have put a question on the ballot in the upcoming November general election asking voters if they would like to change the Wyoming Constitution to create a separate tax class for residential property.

The change was designed to allow legislators to give property-tax relief to Wyoming residents without losing substantial revenue from property taxes collected on mineral-producing property.

Besides Olsen, the bill was cosponsored by Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, and Sens. Grant Larson, R-Jackson, and Pat Aullman, R-Thayne.

The bill seemed to have strong support in the House. It was one of a handful of property-tax measures that made it into committee this year. Because the Legislature is focusing on formulating the state’s biennial budget, bills had to be backed by a two-thirds majority before they could even be considered by committees.

The bill passed introduction 51-9 and was referred to the House Revenue Committee. It passed the Revenue Committee unanimously and was referred to the Appropriations Committee. There, it passed 5-1-1, with Rep. Pete Jorgensen, D-Jackson, voting against it, and Rep. Rosie Berger, R-Sheridan, excused.

However, when it came up for the final vote on the House floor, the bill was soundly defeated, falling 11-43, with six excused. Olsen, along with Gingery, voted in favor of the bill, while Jorgensen voted against it.

Gingery blamed the defeat on the lobbying efforts of the agriculture industry and county assessors.

“We have worked so hard this past year organizing support for property-tax reform, and at the last minute the county assessors and the agricultural community fought back hard to stop the property-tax reform,” Gingery said in a news release.

Valley legislators had praised Olsen’s bill, assuming it would be ratified by voters in November, as the only true property-tax-reform option. All of the property-tax bills still alive in the Legislature would target low-income households and very few people in Jackson would qualify for relief, Gingery said.