Banks recovering after health scare during House floor speech

Cowley lawmaker reflects on session, local projects

State Rep. Dalton Banks, R-Cowley, is recovering after a brief but alarming health incident on the House floor last weekend while speaking on behalf of a Big Horn Basin project.

Banks, who represents House District 26 in northern Big Horn County, had been battling a stomach illness for several days and returned to the Capitol sooner than he should have. While delivering an impassioned speech Saturday morning in support of a $1.2 million budget amendment for the proposed Cottonwood Canyon bike trail system east of Lovell, Banks became disoriented and collapsed on the chamber floor.

He later said the moment was more embarrassing than serious.

“I am feeling good. I’d been sick and I overdid it. But I’m good now,” Banks said, adding with humor, “I forgot to eat my Wheaties.”

While he was off the floor, the amendment failed in the House by a 27–33 vote. However, Banks said the provision found success in the Senate and could still emerge during final budget negotiations.

“I brought an amendment to the budget for our community,” Banks said. “The Town of Lovell has put in tremendous work on getting the Cottonwood Canyon bike trails system going. This project has brought together so many stakeholders and has been very well planned out, and I’ve been very impressed with their good work. I was honored to bring an amendment for a grant for that project, and unfortunately it was unsuccessful. But it was successful in the Senate, so hopefully we can negotiate it into the finalized budget.”

Despite the setback, Banks said the session overall has included several significant developments for local communities.

“One of the most important bills we passed was direct distribution,” he said. “We were able to put an amendment on it to increase it from 5.6% to 7%, so that will keep it roughly the same amount that we’ve been getting the past few years. I don’t know why they tried to reduce it.”

The “direct distribution” debate centers on how much state sales tax is returned to local governments. Lawmakers initially proposed lowering the share, but an amendment raising it from 5.6% to 7% helps keep funding closer to what communities have received in recent years.

Banks also pointed to HB 78, focused on forest management and fire mitigation.

“HB 78 is a forest health grant program to aid in our forest management,” he said. “It helps with fire mitigation, water yield and wildlife habitat, which will help our surface water as well as minimize fire fuels.”

Water infrastructure has also been a major focus this session.

“We’ve also been working on our omnibus water bills, which include water projects in all the communities, from municipal water systems to irrigation improvements and dam repairs,” he said.

Banks highlighted education funding as another area of progress.

“SF 47 deals with Hathaway Scholarship increases,” he said. “With the cost of everything increasing, this will help our students have more opportunities with that scholarship.”

He also noted a proposal that could have a sizable local impact.

“Another amendment was brought that would establish the Business Ready Community account, and it’s based on assessed value as well as a three-year rolling average in population. It would bring almost 1.6 million additional dollars to Big Horn County,” Banks said.

Beyond policy wins and losses, Banks said the experience on the House floor reinforced what he values most about the Legislature.

“What I love about the Wyoming Legislature is, though we have our disagreements, everyone treats each other very well,” he said. “When I had my little incident, multiple people rushed to help me regardless of previous debates or disagreements. There are good, decent people representing their constituents and the state, and I’ve always appreciated that.”

With the House now moving on from House bills to Senate files, Banks said the session is roughly at its midpoint.