Disclosures also reveal the biggest contributors overall for all state races combined. They were: Reagan Outdoor Advertising, $66,788; EnergySolutions, $62,210; I-Works, $55,000; 1-800-CONTACTS, $49,750; Comcast, $48,150; Parents for Choice in Education, $47,473; and Bruce Bastian (a co-founder of WordPerfect and a gay-rights activist), $46,850.

Special-interest political action committees in Utah reported spending $5.8 million overall in 2008, which includes not only donations to state office candidates but also to county and out-of-state candidates and the PACs' operating costs.

The PAC that spent the most was the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, $806,562, followed by the Operating Engineers Local No. 3 union, $606,686; the Utah Association of Realtors, $598,012; Huntsman's Governor's Special Initiatives Office PAC, $439,952; and Parents for Choice in Education, $207,071.

Also, corporations may donate directly to state races in Utah, although such donations are outlawed for federal races. Corporations reported donating $2.7 million to state, county and local candidates in 2008.

Donating the most from company funds was EnergySolutions, $187,400, followed by Reagan Outdoor Advertising, $119,539; Utah League of Credit Unions, $95,600; Comcast, $103,300; the Workers Compensation Fund, $85,400; SelectHealth, $83,584; and Merit Medical Systems, $82,450.

Also filing disclosure forms were political issues committees, groups that campaign for or against issues and initiatives. They spent $755,542 combined. Renew The Zoo raised the most among PICs, $634,881, followed by the Tracy Aviary PIC, $39,945. They successfully pushed for increased tax funding of Hogle Zoo and Tracy Aviary.

E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com