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Sen. Ed Cooper urges protection for UW funding, backs SJ002 and targeted energy growth
Summary
Sen. Ed Cooper told Big Horn County commissioners he will push back on deep cuts by the Joint Appropriations Committee, sponsor SJ002 to address foreign dark money in elections and support codifying direct-distribution health funds and targeted energy development, including Wyoming-only spent nuclear fuel storage sites.
Senator Ed Cooper, who represents Senate District 20, visited the Big Horn County Commission on Jan. 20 to outline priorities for the abbreviated 2026 legislative session and warn of what he described as harmful budget reductions.
"The Joint Appropriations Committee has made some really bad cuts," Cooper said, adding that cuts to the University of Wyoming "are not feasible or acceptable" and he views deep reductions as an attempt to "dismantle public education." He said he will work to protect much of what he called the governor's "balanced budget."
Cooper described SJ002 as a resolution "aimed to stop foreign dark money in elections," saying the goal is to "begin the conversation" and counter mailers that he contends were funded by outside sources in the last election. On health funding, he said he would like to place some One Big Beautiful Bill health-care dollars into a trust modeled after the Wyoming Wildlife Trust Fund and that the process will require careful work.
On taxation and local finance, Cooper said he is "not in favor of an additional 2% sales tax" and favors keeping control of taxation local, while continuing to support backfill payments for counties harmed by prior state tax changes. He told commissioners that voter turnout — which he noted was about 27% in the recent election — is a major concern.
Energy policy was another focus. Cooper said Wyoming should "reopen" to energy industries and that the Wyoming Business Council is key to attracting funding. He also proposed a Wyoming-only approach to spent nuclear fuel storage, with one or two centralized locations rather than scattered private sites.
Why it matters: Cooper is signaling the priorities he will press in the legislature and identifying specific areas — higher education funding, tax policy and energy siting — where county and local leaders may face impacts depending on the final state budget and legislation. The commission heard the presentation and asked questions about sales tax, backfill and how constituents can engage.
The commission did not take formal action on Cooper's proposals; the senator encouraged local engagement, including letters to the editor and voter outreach, as mechanisms for constituents to influence the session.
