‘Checkgate’ Bill to Eliminate Teton Housing Rules Clears Wyoming House

A bill that would strike down Jackson and Teton County’s affordable housing mitigation policies passed the Wyoming House on Monday, advancing the measure championed by conservative activist Rebecca Bextel, whose check-passing incident on the House floor sparked dual investigations.

House Bill 141 cleared on a 35-17 vote and now heads to the Senate. The legislation would eliminate the local housing rules starting July 1, arguing they violate Fifth Amendment protections against taking property without just compensation.

The debate Monday focused on economic philosophy and local control, not the controversy that has dogged the bill for two weeks. On Feb. 9, Bextel was photographed handing campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor after adjournment. The donor, Teton County philanthropist Don Grasso, later said his secretary sent the checks to Bextel expecting she would mail them—not hand-deliver them in the Capitol.

All eight House lawmakers Grasso listed as intended recipients voted for the bill Monday. They also voted to introduce it Feb. 11, when Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, warned his colleagues the “optics” would be bad.

The House has launched an internal bribery investigation; the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a parallel criminal probe. The Senate, House and governor have since adopted rules banning campaign contributions in the Capitol during session.

During floor debate, Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, offered three amendments to preserve local housing tools, all rejected. She argued Teton County’s $8.6 million average home price stems from demand, not policy. “The proponents of this bill seem to think we do not do enough for rich people,” she said.

House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette, countered that the bill “protects the individual. It doesn’t get any more ‘local control’ than that.”

Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, one of the intended recipients, said Bextel brought his check to his office early in session—before the floor incident—and he handed it to his wife. He noted he cosponsored the bill before Bextel ever entered the Capitol. “Why would I need to be bribed to do what I already did a year ago?” he asked.

The bill now awaits Senate consideration.