A woeful ethics reform record

This legislative session is turning out to be a loser for ethics reform. That puts it in league with every other legislative session in memory. It also qualifies as the least surprising fact of the session.

So far, every bill designed to either limit or control what lawmakers receive or how they spend campaign funds has hit a wall.

Ironically, the only reform bill that has a chance is the one Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is pushing, which would reform practices in the executive branch only, as well as enact term limits on governors.

There is a lesson in all this. Reform will come only when people in powerful positions make an issue of it. Once again, that is not the case in the House or Senate.

We've made a habit of referring to the public support these reforms consistently get in opinion polls. About two-third of Utahns typically say they would like to outlaw all gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers. It's also useful to note how public confidence erodes when lawmakers are accorded privileges and perks beyond those they are entitled to as public servants, and when they and politicians on all levels in the state are free to keep their campaign funds when they leave office. No wonder some people feel the needs of lobbyists outweigh the needs of average Utahns.

So far, a bill by Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, is stuck in a committee. It would expand the listing requirements of lawmakers and other public officials who receive gifts from lobbyists. A bill by Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, would ban all gifts, including so-called intangible gifts, costing more than $50. The ban would include gifts from non-lobbyists as well. The bill has yet to be introduced, but we're not holding our breath.

Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, has his own gift-ban bill. It didn't even get a hearing, despite Becker's status as House minority leader. Finally, Sen. Karen Hale's bill limiting what politicians can do with leftover campaign funds failed in a committee. Some politicians pocket tens of thousands of dollars or more when they call it quits.

Each year, legislative leaders seem content to swat these bills aside as if they were irritating gnats. Indeed, they do so without ever seeming to suffer on Election Day. And yet, the overall health of the state suffers as the invisible gulf widens between politicians and their constituents.