Permanent Mineral Trust Fund (PMTF)
When was the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund (PMTF) created?
The fund was created in 1975 by a constitutional amendment that passed on the November 1974 ballot. Governor Hathaway made creation of the fund a requirement before he would agree to not veto a rise in the mineral severance tax.
The history of the fund starts in 1968 when Wyoming's state bank balance was down to only $80. In the next legislative session, Governor Hathaway drafted a bill to institute a severance tax on minerals in the state. Representative Cliff Davis of Campbell County introduced the bill in the January 1969 legislative session. The bill passed by a narrow margin, creating the first severance tax on minerals in Wyoming at 1%. Legislators wanted to raise the tax in 1974 but Governor Hathaway said that he would veto the effort as unnecessary unless part of the money was set aside in a permanent mineral trust fund through a constitutional amendment.
Senator Dick Jones and Governor Hathaway drafted the legislation to create the fund and the amendment appeared on the ballot on November 5, 1974. It passed by a wide margin. With that vote, the PMTF was created, and for its first thirteen years 2% of severance tax revenues were used to grow the account. Later the requirement was lowered to 1.5% and 0.5% was directed to the state's savings account. Then, in 2005 1% was added to the constitutional requirement, and now 2.5% of severance taxes are deposited in the PMTF until further legislative action.
What is the current balance of the PMTF?
The ending balance of the PMTF in the 2010 fiscal year was $4,555,406,399.06.
The Wyoming legislature made it a goal for the PMTF's balance to reach $4 Billion by 2010. They achieved this goal in 2008 when the fund's market value reached $4,135,400,000, when in 1999 the fund had only held $1.5 billion. This was accomplished by not only increasing the amount of severance tax revenue saved from 1.5% to 2.5% in 2005, but also by direct appropriations from the Wyoming State Legislature. In fact, $411,442,146 was provided by direct legislative appropriation from 2001-2009, and $627,317,972 was put in the fund above the constitutional requirement for the same period.
The cost basis of the PMTF as of April 30, 2011 was $5,066,954,221 and the market value of the PMTF as of this date was $5,439,206,773.
How much did the PMTF grow in the last year?
The PMTF grew by $293,190,587 in the 2010 fiscal year, which was 6.9%.
What year saw the highest growth in the ending balance of the PMTF?
Not counting the PMTF's year of creation, the fund grew 79.2% in the 1976 fiscal year. The largest increase since 1982 was 20.3%, which occurred in 2006.
What minerals have made the largest contribution to the PMTF?
The following minerals compose a majority of the PMTF. The values are the mineral's total contributions from 1975 to 2010.
| Gas |
43.76% |
$1,780,750,145.43 |
| Oil |
23.01% |
$936,194,105.40 |
| Coal |
23.62% |
$961,037,077.71 |
What is the total investment income since the PMTF's creation? From 2001-2010? In 2010 alone?
The total investment income since the PMTF's creation in 1975 is $2,565,973,055.35. The total from 2001-2010 is $981,590,879.35 and the total in 2010 was $139,450,800.
What does the State Treasurer's Office investment portfolio look like?
The State Treasurer's Office uses modern portfolio theory to diversify the investments. This means that the State maximizes returns within the limits of acceptable risk by spreading out its allocation of assets among different types of investments. The State Treasurer's Office works with RV Kuhns, an investment advisor, to create and review asset allocation targets to best meet its needs. The fund is currently 42.3% fixed income, 50.2% equities, and 4.7% cash. There is a constitutional limit that no more than 55% of the fund can be invested in equities.
How much of the PMTF has gone to the general fund since 1975? From 2001 to 2010? In 2010 alone?
The PMTF sent $2,871,050,406.35 to the general fund as interest income from 1975-2010; $1,302,948,668.35 from 2001-2010, during record mineral production; and $139,450,800 in 2010 alone.
The PMTF contributed $139,450,800 (or 13.3%) of the general fund's revenues in the 2010 fiscal year. It is projected to contribute 11.8% in 2011. A recent high contribution to the general fund was in 2008 when the PMTF's contribution peaked at 24% of the general fund's revenues.
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