Lobbyist gifts should be banned

As much as public opinion polls tell us that a wide majority of Utahns would prefer an all-out ban on lobbyists' gifts to state lawmakers, it's reasonably clear that that's not going to happen, at least not this session.

Even before the session has started, the House Republican caucus has passed a bill that would exempt the reporting of meals lawmakers accept from lobbyists valued under $50. That's problematic because meals comprise most of the money spent on legislators, and meals mean lobbyists have access to lawmakers for extended periods of time. The general public has a right to know who is bending their respective legislator's ear and consider for themselves if that access influences how they vote on particular measures.

To his credit, the draft bill's sponsor, House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander, R-Provo, told the Deseret Morning News that it was not his intention to remove less-expensive meals from the gross lobbyist-spending totals. "I'll have to fix that," he said.

As this page has said many times before, the best means to deal with lobbyist gifts is either to ban them outright or require full and immediate reporting. Alexander seeks greater transparency, which is good, but doesn't eliminate the gift-giving. Such an elimination would be preferable because it relieves lawmakers from even the appearance of impropriety and fosters public confidence in the lawmaking process.

We prefer a bill by Rep. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, which would ban gift giving. (Jones is a principal in Dan Jones & Associates and spouse to pollster Dan Jones. The firm conducts public opinion polls on behalf of The Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, among other clients.) Absent that, Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, has proposed reducing the threshold at which a gift-accepting legislator would be named in lobbyist reports to $10. Bell says his approach has the support of Senate leaders.

While Alexander's proposal, as currently drafted, does not go far enough in our eyes, there are other positive aspects to his draft legislation. For one, it would require reporting of lawmakers' travel-related expenses paid by lobbyists for conventions or other work-related legislative activities. It also attempts to disclose lobbyists' conflicts of interests. For the first time, government officials who entertain legislators would be required to report gifts as private-sector lobbyists do. Also, the reporting threshold for non-food gifts would be $5.

We hope lawmakers will give careful consideration to each of the proposals that have been set forth. According to the latest Dan Jones & Associates poll conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, more than 75 percent of Utahns want to ban all but the smallest gifts to legislators. Lawmakers should take notice.