Each NCSL convention costs more than $2 million to put on. In recent years, the host committee — the legislature of the state where the convention meets — has picked up around $1 million, with NCSL itself paying costs to bring in speakers and run the daily educational sessions. Some host legislatures have actually appropriated tax dollars for the event.

But Utah legislative leaders decided early on that no tax dollars — other than legislative staffers' salaries for those working on the event — would be spent.

House and Senate Republicans and Democrats originally planned to raise $1.2 million for this July's conference but late this spring dropped that goal to $860,000 as fund raising poked along and some convention budgets were trimmed.

Local legislators at first said they'd raise the money themselves, hitting up Utah and national businesses and their lobbyists. But that led to concerns of conflict of interest, along with a realization that money was just trickling in.

In fact, House and Senate leaders even held a lobbyist fund-raiser during the January/February general session, with government watchdog leaders complaining that legislators shouldn't be asking lobbyists and special-interest business bosses for money while lawmakers were debating bills the groups wanted action on.

"This is highly inappropriate," Claire Geddes of Utah Legislative Watch said at the time. "If it is legal, it shouldn't be. Whether or not the money is given directly to a legislator or his PAC, it's the same thing: a favor done for legislators while they are considering bills these (corporations) want passed or killed."

In the end, Utah leaders hired a professional fund-raiser, moving most of them at least one step away from actually soliciting the cash themselves.

And as the convention neared, more money did come in. Cash was still being pledged and collected this week. A list of donors provided to the Deseret Morning News on Thursday shows $766,400 either pledged or in hand.

One of the bigger donors was PacifiCorp, which donated $25,000 primarily because "we believe in democracy and support it when we can," spokesman Dave Eskelsen said. Because the company is internationally owned, it cannot donate to political campaigns and decided to show support for Utah legislators with a convention donation.

"Our primary motivation is to support a worthy convention, sponsored by the state, to help make it a success," Eskelsen said.

Many of the firms or associations giving money likely won't have much if any business before the Utah Legislature anytime soon.

Others give because of personal considerations. For example, Zions Bank is Utah House Speaker Marty Stephens' old firm. (And Stephens is NCSL president this year.) Merit Medical just hired Stephens, who is retiring from the House, as a vice president. Utah Senate President Al Mansell will soon become the national president of the Realtors' association.