Lobbyists gave $125,000 to legislators
Gifts averaged $1,200 per lawmaker in first quarter
Lobbyists reported providing just over $125,000 total worth of gift items to the 104 legislators that quarter, according to Deseret News analysis of lobbyist disclosure forms filed last week.
The analysis shows which lobbyists and industries gave the most, what gifts were most popular, and which legislators took the most. However, who received exactly what is, as usual, still largely a mystery.
Because of loopholes in Utah law, lobbyists did not disclose by name who received about 89 cents worth of every dollar they spent on gifts. That is because lobbyists must name recipients only when they spend more than $50 a day on a specific lawmaker.
Often, gifts will cost just under that amount. For example, at least eight lobbyists reported spending a few cents less than $50 on dinners with individual unnamed legislators, and some of them did it many times. Also in the past, lawmakers sometimes have agreed to pay part of the cost of the gift to keep under the name-disclosure requirement.
But Karen Crompton, head of Voice for Utah Children, a nonprofit group that cannot afford to wine and dine lawmakers, says, "It makes a difference of whether you have two minutes to talk (with a lawmaker) in the hallway or an hour and a half at lunch."
She adds, "Obviously, the more time you are able to spend with a legislator, the more time they have to get to know you and to build a relationship — and the more time to talk about an issue. That can make a difference," she said.
But Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo — who took the most in identifiable lobbyist gifts of any lawmaker at $1,447, largely because of a Delta Air Lines-paid trip to Atlanta — said lawmakers do not favor those who give gifts.
For example, he told about a lobbyist-paid trip a year ago for some lawmakers to tour a privatized state mental hospital in Florida, but Utah lawmakers decided against similar privatization in Utah. "A legislator going on a fact-finding trip doesn't always result in what the lobbyist was hoping for or expecting," he said. He adds he is willing to talk to anyone, and his door is open to all citizens.
Lincoln Shurtz — who gave the most of any lobbyist, $7,753, mostly for a Utah League of Cities and Towns dinner with legislators — says gifts are not needed for access. "This is a very citizen-friendly Legislature. Anyone can go to the Legislature, send in a card, and nine times out of 10 their legislator will come and meet with them," he said.
Recent comments
I mean his son's wedding :)
Concerned Republican | April 21, 2008 at 6:22 p.m.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that after the Atlanta trip, Bramble...
Concerned Republican | April 21, 2008 at 6:20 p.m.
Love of money is evil. The current party of legislative power loves...
v | April 21, 2008 at 3:16 p.m.
