CHEYENNE— A recent story in Cowboy State Daily about legislative privilege in Colorado reminded me of one of the more warm and colorful Wyoming legislators.
He was Sen. Cal Taggart, a Republican, sort of, from Lovell.
I say “sort of” because Taggart was independent;. he did not always follow the Republican party line or the caucus position.
He was, in fact, a friend of Democratic Gov. Ed Herschler and voted accordingly at times.
But his prime role as a legislator from Lovell was to represent the people in the Big Horn Basin.
He did that well.
And his constituents — like virtually all Wyoming drivers for that fact — hated the 55 mph speed limit.
By 1979, the federal government National Maximum Speed law had been in effect for five years. It restricted the maximum permissible vehicle speed limit to 55 mph on all interstate roads in the United States.
The law, which remained in effect until the 1980’s, was a response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, and its intent was to reduce fuel consumption.
If the states thumbed their nose at the feds, which western states with their long distances between towns were inclined to do, they would lose millions of dollars in federal highway money.
Undeterred, Taggart introduced a bill in the 1979 session to increase the speed limit to 65 mph.
He hoped other western states would follow suit with Wyoming leading the way. That didn’t happen.
As the word spread about Wyoming’s potential rebellion, the senate lobby and floor saw an influx of cameras and reporters.
Taggart was busy giving interviews for several days. The bill even made the New York Times, but not the front page.
He maintained his bill was essentially about state’s rights; the feds had crossed the line in other ways as well, including limits on emissions and other environmental protections, then on the rise.
Taggart also had a personal stake. He drove a new or late model Mercedes on the long trips from Lovell and Cheyenne and back.
In one stop he was clocked at more than 100 miles an hour. Information about that stop was what gave him the “fast lane” nickname, coupled with his proposed legislation
He argued that the Wyoming Constitution’s section on legislative privilege negated his speeding ticket because he was driving to Cheyenne for the legislative session
Well, no. The constitution does not cover the driving time but only protects the legislators from arrest during the formal session, with certain exceptions.
To sum up, the Senate passed Taggart’s bill but the House killed it, largely because Warren Morton, the house speaker, vigorously opposed it given the loss of federal money.
Later Taggart was able to get through a bill to limit the fine for traveling between 55 mph and 74 mph to $25. This law also kept the violation off the motorist's driving record.
That was a gift for those of us who had to drive the interstate a lot on business.
One day during this period, a strike broke out at the Laramie River power plant near Wheatland. This was big news so we Cheyenne-based reporters headed for Wheatland unaware of an overzealous highway patrolman assigned to that 1-25 route.
Phil Noble, then with K-2 television, received one speeding ticket going to Wheatland and one returning to Cheyenne. I only got one.
But I collected more traveling I-80 to Evanston and Rock Springs during that period and others; they were all paid by me out-of-pocket.
I was driving not a Mercedes but a 1972 Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe with a V-8 engine.
I loved that car.
That baby could fly.
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Contact Joan Barron at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net
