Demos hope ethics bills will advance

Legislative Democrats are hoping that recent political scandals and support from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will propel their annual ethics reform bills further than in previous years.

As in recent years, members of the minority party are sponsoring legislation to ban gifts and prohibit campaign funds from being used for personal expenses, as well as a mandatory waiting period for ex-legislators wanting to become lobbyists. That measure, specifically, was a prohibition that Huntsman wants instituted for his own staff.

In his State of the State speech last month, the governor called for ethics reforms for the executive branch only. He said it would include full disclosure, term limits for governor, campaign finance reform as well as the mandatory waiting, or cooling-off period. A bill limiting the governor to two terms has already been introduced this session at Huntsman's request.

The governor isn't isn't, however, getting involved in ethics reforms for lawmakers.

While there are nuances that can always be debated with ethics reform, House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said that the most important step for legislators to take are meaningful changes to restore public faith in elected officials. In years past, most of the ethics bills have died quiet deaths in committee hearings.

"Democrats and Republicans have offered legislations to improve the standards of government," he said. "These bills have never moved very far, but we continue to believe we need to have standards which the public expects of us."

Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, who is sponsoring SB140 in an effort to prevent retiring legislators or losing candidates from using their campaign contributions for noncampaign related materials, said that without some reform, people will continue to doubt government.

"These issues are not partisan, these are important to everyone in Utah," she said. "These bills are a step forward, and can restore confidence in government."

"One of the problems I'm having is I don't really view going to a meal as a gift," Valentine said. "In fact, many of them, I'd rather not be there."

Speaker Of The House Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, agreed that disclosure was better than a total ban. Additionally, if Bell's bill cannot pass the Senate, than it's obvious that a more stringent bill from a Democratic representative would have little chance.

Regardless, he understands the need to try for some reform for the public's sake, especially after a summer which included a whole slew of ethical and criminal problems in Salt Lake County and for Curtis himself.

"You've got this quagmire, and I understand that the public is clamoring for these guidelines," he said. "I just want to to know what they should be."

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