Utahns want reform in Legislature

Utahns by and large approve of how their 104 part-time legislators act. But in one area — legislator ethics and campaigning — Utahns favor a broad range of reforms, a new wide-ranging public opinion survey shows.

The Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, in an effort to measure Utahns' views about how state lawmakers manage their own ethical conduct, asked more than two dozen questions on the subject. Four hundred adults were involved in the survey earlier this month.

A majority of those polled favored all kinds of political and ethical reforms, the survey by Dan Jones & Associates found.

In fact, Utahns turn down only one so-called reform idea: public financing of legislative campaigns. Jones found that even though Utahns worry about big money in politics, 63 percent of citizens oppose public financing of political campaigns here.

On all other issues, however, majorities — in some cases supermajorities — of citizens want change in how ethical and campaign issues are handled.

With such public support, why do most so-called ethical reform bills die each session?

Tony Musci, chairman of Utah Common Cause, a government watch-dog group, says legislators take talk of ethics the wrong way.

"Historically, legislators have a hard time understanding the problems with these issues — conflict of interest, campaign finance, lobbyist influence. They don't distinguish those systemic problems from what they see as an attack on their character. And it isn't. We need to get past that.

"Utah is below average in having strong laws ensuring an open and democratic government. But we are not below average, we are above average, in having good strong people of character in office. It seems it will take a scandal" for Utah legislators to see that ethics laws should be stronger. Fixing the structure is not a reflection on them as individuals or as a group, Musci said.

House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, said there may be some public perception problems on the whole, "but when individuals come to know their own legislators, they are very comfortable with them."

As a group, Utah legislators are "honest, they serve with great integrity and great sacrifice, both from their families and professionally. With a part-time Legislature there are inherent conflicts, but my colleagues are good people. And when there is a problem, the media is vigilant and shines a spotlight on it," Curtis said.

The new poll shows that Utahns back changes that local Democratic Party and minority party legislators propose — even though there is almost no chance that the Republican majority in the Utah House and Senate would change laws as the minority Democrats and citizens wish.