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Representative Eklund elected chair of Select Water Committee; Senator Bonar named vice chair
Summary
The Select Water Committee selected Representative Jason Eklund as chair and Senator Bonar as vice chair in a procedural vote; members clarified quorum and voting procedures before confirming officers.
Representative Jason Eklund was elected chair of the Select Water Committee during the body’s organizational session, and Senator Bonar was confirmed as vice chairman after committee members re-tallied hand votes to ensure a quorum.
David Hopkins, with the Legislative Service Office, opened the meeting and noted the committee had a quorum and proposed proceeding with officer elections. “We do now have a quorum. And so to get started then, we'll have Miss Hamilton call the roll,” Hopkins said.
Following nominations, a voice vote was taken on the chairmanship. “All those in favor of electing Representative Eklund as chairman of the Select Water Committee, please say aye,” the presiding officer said; members responded “Aye,” and Eklund was declared elected.
The vice-chair vote required additional attention after an initial count. Hopkins cautioned that the committee’s rules require a majority of the quorum to elect an officer: “At the time that the vote took place, there were 10 members present, and it does require a majority of the quorum.” Committee members recounted hand votes; the chairman reported, “I believe we have 6. So, Senator — you're still the vice chairman.”
Representative Eklund, in his first remarks as chair, described the committee’s work as collaborative and emphasized the importance of the panel’s role on water issues, saying, “This is a really important committee. And I don't think historically we've ever had a more important time in the history of Wyoming than we do with that Colorado River drainage and the things that are going on with that.”
No formal roll-call vote record was produced in the transcript; the motions and voice/hand votes were handled in open session and described on the record. The committee moved forward with its agenda after confirming the officers.
