Rep. Jones said there is no good reason for lobbyists to give legislators gifts nor for legislators to accept them.

"No gifts is a nice thing, but for a part-time Legislature, I don't think that is possible," Alexander responded.

In her polling work, Rep. Jones said, she's gone to lunch or breakfast a number of times with journalists, and they always pay for their own meals. That opened the debate to complaints about how the media have reported on lawmakers' gift-taking in the past.

"This (gift-taking) is an issue manufactured by reporters trying to create a story. I have not seen a problem here in this state at all," said Rep. David Cox, R-Lehi.

Public reporting of the gifts legislators take from lobbyists "ends up creating entrapment for honest people. (HB101) will not stop anything (coming to lawmakers) under the table, doesn't clean anything up. It sets traps for good, honest people."

Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, tried, but failed, to lower the meal threshold to $20.

HB101 then passed with only four House members voting against it: Cox; Reps. Neal Hendrickson, D-West Valley; Neil Hansen, D-Ogden; and James Gowans, D-Tooele.

The bill's future in the Senate is unknown. Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, has re-introduced his gift bill (it died in the 2005 Legislature) that would lower the current $50 level of naming gift-taking legislators to $10. Bell doesn't exempt cheaper meals from the naming requirement, as HB101 does. Bell says he has support of Senate GOP leaders, but his new bill has not yet been heard in committee.

---

E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com