As costs rose and events became more lavish, one year eastern Utah lawmakers got into hot water for sending out letters to well-known lobbyists asking for large contributions — up to $5,000 each — to pay for the feeding and travel of lawmakers.

Those solicitations won't happen again, said Curtis. But local legislators will, again, be asked to coordinate tours and arrange for town hall meetings, he said. Local groups may host dinners and lunches, as well.

"I think it's great that we're going out again," said House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake. "The Legislature needs to be exposed to the issues, people and geography around the state."

But it's premature to announce the trip is going to Logan, he added.

The evenly divided Legislative Management Committee decides legislative activities, Becker pointed out. The committee is one of the few bodies with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats on it; the Legislature as a whole is more than two-thirds Republican.

"I'd hope we would tour Salt Lake City and County," said Becker. "It's our turn."

When legislators stopped the tour in 2000, the decade-long "road show," as some termed it, had visited all areas of the state except Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. Both the House and Senate are districted according to population, and 80 percent of legislators come from those four highly populated Wasatch Front counties.

"I know the Salt Lake City Council and our mayor (Rocky Anderson) would like to host us here," said Becker. However, Anderson has, again, been in verbal feuds with Republican legislators. And GOP leaders decided to go north.

"We went to northern Utah as one of our first trips," said Curtis. And with the turnover in part-time legislators since 1994, most current lawmakers have not visited there as part of the Legislature.

---

E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com