Wyoming House committee found an activist handed $1,500 campaign checks to four legislators on the House floor, found no constitutional or explicit rules violation, and both chambers then banned accepting contributions in the Capitol, 2026

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The Wyoming House voted 59-0 (three members excused) to form a Special Investigative Committee after political activist Rebecca Bextel handed campaign checks from Teton County donor Don Grasso to legislators on the House floor on Feb. 9, 2026, the first day of the budget session. In its March 4, 2026 final report the committee found that she handed $1,500 checks to Reps. Joe Webb, Marlene Brady, Darin McCann and Chris Knapp around 5:20 p.m., after the chamber had adjourned for the day, and that none of the checks bore a notation of purpose. It called campaign contributions on the House floor 'highly unusual and perhaps unprecedented in the history of the state.' It found the evidence 'did not reveal a violation' of Article 3, Sections 42 or 43 of the Wyoming Constitution (the bribery provisions) and did not reveal an explicit violation of any House or joint rule, but said the conduct 'was undesirable and must never occur again.' The committee described its work as legislative fact-finding, not an adjudication of guilt, and the House voted 59-0 to accept the report. The Wyoming Senate adopted a rule 31-0 on Feb. 17, and the House adopted a rule 59-0 on Feb. 18, barring members from knowingly accepting campaign contributions in the Capitol during the legislative session. The Laramie County Sheriff's Office announced a separate criminal investigation on Feb. 14, 2026; WyoFile reported on Aug. 19, 2026 that it was ongoing, and the sources reviewed report no charges. Bextel denied wrongdoing, telling the committee, 'My only intention was to expeditiously hand candidates checks.'

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