CHEYENNE —In many ways the 2026 budget session turned out to be better than expected.
In the end, budget negotiations weren’t a shaggy mess of confrontations and recriminations leading ultimately to a special session.
Instead, the differences between the House and Senate were ironed out in either 15 minutes or five hours, depending on which legislator was keeping count.
The Senate, as usual, called the shots on the budget.
The Freedom Caucus leaders who control the House had three key cuts in their budget version.
They included zero dollars for the Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming Public Television and a $40 million reduction in the University of Wyoming budget.
The Senate version and the budget that will go into effect in July saved the Business Council from obliteration, instead assigning it as an interim committee study. The Senate restored Public Television money and half the University cut, with certain conditions.
Before the session began, I identified two major issues I intended to follow - the basket of election reform bills that were not needed, and even more proposals to cut property taxes, which would further muddy the tax picture.
Bills that addressed both issues failed to get through.
The big wind that blew through the session, known as Check-Gate, changed the conversation. In many ways it exposed the weakness of the Freedom Caucus and legislative rules.
As surely everyone must know by now, it involved a Teton County activist who distributed $1,500 campaign checks to four Freedom Caucus members on behalf of a wealthy Teton County donor.
The handout that has appeared in a photo taken by a Democratic House member, took place on the House floor after the representatives adjourned for the day.
The incident turned the session into turmoil and derailed legislative business for a day or so.
When the panic subsided it turned out there was no crime, no bribery nor any rule that barred such an incident.
The governor and legislative leaders scrambled to pass rules that would outlaw any future campaign business in the chambers or in the entire Capitol building.
At its worst, Check-Gate was “bad form” as the British would say; we call it “bad optics.”
It also was unprecedented and, sadly, showed a disrespect for the Legislature as a historic institution.
The House went into a long evening floor meeting to deal with the crisis.
The video of that session and subsequent interviews displayed the apparent inability of the Freedom Caucus members to accept responsibility for an embarrassing misadventure.
Part of that could be attributed to their newness, inexperience and obvious indifference to the Legislative Service Office’s indoctrination classes for freshmen, which include ethics and behavior.
(I know first hand about this class for freshmen, having participated for years on a panel that included radio and TV reporters.)
At any rate, the Caucus members blamed the Democrats, traditional Republicans who voted with the six Democrats, the news media, and even the Legislative Service Office for their embarrassment when the gaffe was made public.
They whined.
Why is it so hard for today’s politicians to admit the wrongness of a situation? Even though they were not at fault personally, the ball was in the court of the Freedom Caucus members as it were, since they were the recipients of the checks.
Why couldn’t they say “sorry - won’t happen again.”
At any rate, in the post session, the Frontier Caucus is claiming the news media is all wrong in “assessing negatively the Caucus initial budget goals,” as one online publication put it.
That depends how you are looking at it.
Before the session began, the Freedom Caucus newsletter featured a caricature of leader and state Rep. John Bear of Campbell County holding up a chainsaw, just like Elon Musk did.
The caption said the caucus’ goal was to get rid of fraud and waste in state government.
The chainsaw comparison was too much; it was not fulfilled with this year’s budget work
Gov. Mark Gordon, who is not beloved by the Freedom Caucus, was pleased with the budget since he got 99 percent of what he wanted.
The Freedom Caucus claims they did slow spending.
Maybe the Legislature can classify this session as another learning experience.
Contact Joan Barron at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net
