The stage was set and the curtain raised on the Management Audit Committee meeting held on a warm July day in Cheyenne.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus promised oversight. Instead, its members delivered dinner theater—and the audience wasn't in on the joke.
Act One: You Can Lead A Horse To Water
The first Act started out on a methodical pace as a Legislative Service Office (LSO) administrator (think, legislative-branch policy research staffer) explained the Administrative Procedures Act in the development, evaluation and approval of administrative rules.
One freshman legislator ventured into farce territory – in a classic foreshadowing of how the remaining acts would unfold. She referenced the state Constitution and policy changes from no fewer than eight legislative sessions, then said she could not find where authority for rulemaking was given to the governor.
That is a lot of time and effort expended on research. Time probably better spent on reading the actual laws.
The Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act is Title 16, Chapter 3 of the statutes. A quick scroll down to 16-3-103 covers “review and approval by governor.”
According to LSO staff, that has been in place since 1977.
Act Two: Small Town Audits And Subpoenas
The tempo and tone changed while the Department of Audit took center stage to address questions raised at the previous meeting on audits of political subdivisions.
That’s where the mundane morphed into the absurd.
The drama was thick enough to cut with a subpoena.
With all the emoting of a petticoated heroine in a Dudley Do-Right sketch, one legislator delivered a breathless soliloquy: "I, I'm just appalled by the audit," "it's, it's a big wow," and "mind-boggling the amount of negligence."
These gems represented just the highlights from 10 minutes of theatrical hand-wringing that would have made a soap opera director proud.
The subsequent discussions followed a clear theme of “go straight to Jail, do not pass Go.”
The committee voted to subpoena leaders of two small towns and one recreation district over faulty audits, at least two of which are already in meaningful remediation processes.
This was after LSO staffer pointed to the tradition: usually lawmakers ask nicely before using the threat of jail time to get people to Cheyenne.
What is the greatest possible political capital that can be generated by making scapegoats of two small towns and a recreation district?
Why just ask for explanations when you can issue subpoenas and convene a kangaroo court?
Act Three: Ooh, Ooh, Ooh
Reminiscent of Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter, the freshman senator finally got his chance to throw an unexpected twist into the plotline. Well, unexpected to the public but clearly anticipated by many on the committee.
In the name of “we have to sweep our own porch before we can look at everything else,” he moved to direct the Department of Audit (executive branch) to perform a performance audit of the LSO (legislative branch).
The most experienced senator on the committee then got cast as the straight man to inject pesky facts into the plot.
Like the constitutional separation of powers between executive and legislative. Like acting without notice on the agenda. Like asking, what is the rush?
Lawmakers skirted the law’s actual audit mechanism through the circuitous method of directing LSO to request the Department of Audit to conduct the audit.
All the other concerns ignored.
Act Four: But Wait! There’s More
Not content with just one foray into blurring lines between branches of government, the committee launched a new investigation.
This time forming a subcommittee to haul a county clerk in for further public questioning on a blowup about errors in the 2024 election.
Not because there is legal cause, but because there is political opportunity.
The chairman did claim, “it is not a witch hunt.”
But really, who doesn’t love a public lynching?
Enter the Secretary of State from stage left. Never missing an opportunity to make a campaign speech and vilify the Governor at the same time, he droned on with his version of the events, how he saved the day through vigilance; and he denounced the lack of prosecution and administrative dismissal of the clerk.
It’s no secret the Secretary of State has turned his feud with the Governor into a personal mission.
His former colleagues in the Freedom Caucus, now well-entrenched on legislative committees, have carried that torch into policymaking.
This subcommittee is just the next step: another campaign spotlight disguised as oversight.
Epilogue: Some Observations
This is not the first nor is it likely to be the last committee meeting that has been performative, punitive, and politically driven.
In the land of the free and the home of the subpoena, no political point shall go unscored.
Wyoming deserves serious government. Instead, we got a summer stock performance in four acts - starring paranoia, pretext, punchlines and weaponized indignation.
Gail Symons can be reached at: GailSymons@mac.com
