Wyoming lawmakers will investigate checks activist gave to legislators on House floor

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CHEYENNE—The Wyoming House of Representatives voted Thursday to launch an investigation after a conservative activist handed out campaign donation checks to lawmakers on the House floor Monday night. 

The House voted 59-0, with three lawmakers excused, to form a special committee to investigate the matter. The unanimous vote in a legislative body that’s normally heavily divided illustrates how much — and how quickly — the incident reverberated through the Wyoming Capitol and beyond.

Rebecca Bextel, a Jackson resident who unsuccessfully sought the top leadership spot of the Wyoming Republican Party last year, admitted Wednesday in a social media post to handing out checks on the House floor. Bextel said there was no wrongdoing in “delivering lawful campaign checks from Teton County donors when I am in Cheyenne.” 

Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, asked for the investigation Thursday, one day after Bextel acknowledged that she had delivered the checks on behalf of an unnamed Teton County donor. Bextel had earlier that day told a reporter “it’s nobody’s business” when asked about what she had given lawmakers.

Photo raises questions, concern

As first reported Wednesday by WyoFile and the Jackson Hole News&Guide, interviews, a photograph taken by Provenza and security footage also substantiated Bextel’s actions. Lawmakers referenced the reporting throughout their discussion Thursday. 

The exchange of money occurred Monday night, but lawmakers did not publicly broach the subject until Wednesday after Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, raised concerns about the checks during a debate on a bill that Bextel supports. The legislation would prohibit local governments from imposing fees or conditions on residential or commercial development to fund workforce housing, unmet housing needs or affordable housing — an approach that Bextel vocally opposes. 

Yin did not name Bextel in his floor remarks, but said he was concerned with the “optics” of lawmakers accepting the checks two days ahead of deciding on such legislation. 

Wyoming Freedom Caucus members called the allegations “unsubstantiated” before asking the House to register a “protest” against Yin. Cody Republican Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, chair of the caucus, said if checks were handed out, it “essentially would be bribery and unethical.” She also accused Yin of making “a defamatory statement.”

Provenza’s motion will establish a special committee to investigate whether checks were provided to House members and whether that action violates the Wyoming Constitution, or if it constitutes legislative misconduct.

“The special committee would investigate all relevant facts about this matter, hold public hearings and issue a public report to the House of Representatives,” the motion states. 

“This incident calls into question the ethics and impartiality of members,” Provenza said Thursday. “I believe the integrity of the House requires that we investigate this incident and disclose all relevant facts about that incident to all members of the House and to all of Wyoming.”

House backs inquiry

Rock Springs Rep. Darin McCann told reporters Wednesday that Bextel delivered campaign donation checks to him and “several” other lawmakers on the House floor. He declined to identify the donor or the size of the donation. 

A day later, McCann told his colleagues he supported the investigation. 

“Since you’re all talking about me, I welcome this,” McCann said Thursday on the floor as lawmakers debated the motion. 

“The optics is bad, I agree, absolutely. But I did nothing wrong. I did not accept any bribe or anything like that,” McCann said on the floor. “If this were to happen at a motel, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It happened on this floor and I made a mistake.” 

The photograph of the exchange shows McCann accepting what he later identified as a check from Bextel. Green River Republican Rep. Marlene Brady also appears in the photograph holding a similar-looking document.

Brady initially told a reporter Wednesday, “I can’t remember,” when asked what Bextel was handing to lawmakers. Brady gave a different answer to the same reporter later that day, declining to name the Teton County donor. 

“I think I have been implicated here,” Brady said Thursday on the floor, adding that she would “encourage an investigation.” 

“I think it’s unnecessary, but definitely needed to clear the names of those that were implied ill will and illegal bribery, or whatever it is,” she said. “So I look forward to it.”

The overwhelming majority of lawmakers who spoke during debate expressed support for the investigatory committee. Several said constituents back home had already contacted them to express concern. 

Cheyenne Republican Rep. Clarence Styvar said the House “needed to get to the bottom of it,” while Worland Republican Rep. Martha Lawley said she wanted “the people that are involved to have a right to speak for themselves about what happened and why.” 

Debate over approach

While no lawmaker spoke directly in opposition to launching an investigatory committee, a few legislators expressed caution or suggested alternative approaches. Rodriguez-Williams, for example, said she had “questions regarding the potential chilling effect.”

“I question how far back [Provenza] is willing to go,” Rodriguez-Williams said. “Gifts come in many different forms. On this floor, you can see all the flowers, the chocolates, the plants that come in. If we’re going to conduct an investigation, let’s start from the beginning of the session, and let’s disclose all of the gifts that come onto this floor in many different forms.”

The Wyoming Ethics and Disclosure Act prohibits, with some exceptions, any gift which was given as a result of a legislator holding office. The law also requires lawmakers to file a form each year including a list of all offices, directorships and salaried employment as well as a list describing the sources of — but not the amount of — the lawmaker’s income. Amending the law would be the purview of lawmakers. 

As an alternative to Provenza’s motion, Rep. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, suggested lawmakers hand the investigation over to the Legislative Service Office. 

“We’re not [an] investigative body. We’re not a criminal body,” Knapp said. “When I read the article, the accusation seemed to be bribery. If that’s the case, let’s let the authorities handle that.”

(The only mentions of the word “bribery” in previous reporting on the checks by WyoFile and the Jackson Hole News&Guide came from Rodriguez-Williams and Bextel.)

In his comments Thursday, Yin cited Rodriguez-Williams’ comments from a day earlier: 

“I was accused of defamation,” he said. “I would say that the member that accused me also said that if what had happened on the floor actually happened, it does constitute bribery. So I would say, let’s find out if it isn’t. Then we need to figure out what we need to do in state law to make sure it never happens again.” 

Before the House voted on Provenza’s motion, it considered two amendments. Both failed. 

Cheyenne Republican Rep. Daniel Singh brought the first amendment, which would have broadened the special committee’s purview to include reviewing potential revisions to the state’s public record laws. Rodriguez-Williams brought the second. That amendment would have called on the committee to determine “whether there was a security breach.” 

The investigative committee

The motion directs Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, to appoint seven House members to the committee, including at least one Democrat. 

“My commitment to you is to try to make sure we do this in a fair and impartial fashion,” Neiman told the House immediately following the motion’s approval.

“My dad told me one time that your success in life depends on how you handle your difficulties. So how we handle this will determine the success of this body,” Neiman said. “My commitment to all of you is to put a committee together that I believe, and I will make every effort, ladies and gentlemen, to make sure that it’s balanced and that it’s fair.” 

It will also be up to Neiman to select the committee’s chair. 

Otherwise, the motion directs the committee to “hear complaints and evidence as expeditiously as possible” and to conduct all its proceedings in public sessions. 

“Persons called before the committee may be represented by counsel and shall be afforded reasonable opportunity to be heard and to present oral argument,” the motion states.

The committee must provide 48-hour advance notice of each meeting, hearing or other proceeding to any persons it calls to testify, “unless testimony is continued from day to day.”

“The chairman of the special committee shall have the power to administer oaths and to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents relevant to the contest, as authorized [by state law]. Any testimony made at any special committee hearing or before the appropriate house which purports to establish matters of fact shall be made under oath.”

The committee is required to report its findings and final recommendation to the House no later than the fourth legislative day following the date the special committee was convened. 

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the number of lawmakers who were excused from the vote. —Ed.

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