Bell said he would return to the committee with language to remove all references to current officeholders' use of their campaign accounts, but wants to still make law on how retired officeholders can spend their accounts — leaving in the language that says such funds can only to for another race for the ex-office holder, or to a private charity, or a political party, or repay a personal loan to the campaign, or for some other political purpose. The money couldn't go into the ex-officeholders' pockets, as it now can.

There was no vote on the coming amendment that will strip the bill of its application to current legislators. That will come at a later committee meeting.

The Morning News analysis of 2007 legislators' personal use of campaign accounts found the following for the committee members who may vote on the measure: Hickman, $7,592; Sen. Scott McCoy, $7,240 (which included paying himself back some money he contributed to his own campaign); Sen. Ross Romero, $6,972 (he said he paid for conferences he attended that had to do with his legislative work); Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, $5,243; Knudson, $1,341; and Jenkins, $1,608.

The newspaper found that Bell himself spent none of his campaign account on personal items last year.

McCoy told the newspaper that he favors Bell's original bill, that would have attempted to limit how legislators and the other officeholders could spend their current campaign monies.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com