House accepts investigative report finding no explicit rule or constitutional violations after checks were handed out on chamber floor

The Wyoming House voted to accept a unanimous report from a Special Investigative Committee that examined campaign checks distributed on the House floor on Feb. 9.

Chairman Art Wash said the committee — constrained by public hearings and an active criminal inquiry elsewhere — collected 47 exhibits submitted by participants and 31 open‑source items to assemble a public record. The committee concluded a person (identified in testimony as Rebecca Beexel) handed campaign contribution checks on the House floor to several representatives and that the conduct was “highly unusual.” The checks, from donor Don Graassel, were for amounts around $1,500; three were payable to campaign accounts and one was made payable to a representative.

Although the committee documented the events and recommended steps to avoid recurrence, it found the evidence and testimony did not establish an explicit violation of Article 3, Sections 42 or 43 of the Wyoming Constitution or any specific House or joint rule. The report described the chamber as a designated forum deserving special reverence and urged clearer signage, a review of rules about campaign activity in legislative spaces, and mandatory training for legislators on avoiding appearances of impropriety.

Committee recommendations included: requiring members who escort visitors onto the floor to be responsible for those visitors’ behavior while present; management council review of signage and visitor expectations; and adding a focused lesson in legislator training and the legislative handbook about floor decorum and conflict‑of‑interest appearances.

After robust floor discussion — in which several members emphasized the damage to individuals’ reputations and called for clarity and restraint — the House adopted the committee’s report by a vote of 59 in favor with three excused.

Key quote: Chairman Wash said the committee’s duty was to bring order to the public record and provide a clear factual account: "It is important to remember what these hearings are and what they are not... This is a legislative fact‑finding inquiry."

What happens next: The committee’s exhibits and report were entered into the House record and posted publicly; members urged prompt training and rule review to reduce the chance of similar incidents in the future.