Beholden to special interests?

For every $100 in donations raised by incoming Utah legislators in their latest races, $95.70 of it came from special interests or members' own pockets.

In fact, 30 of the 104 legislators who will take office next month raised every cent of their campaign money from special interests or their own pockets. That's a 50 percent increase over the 19 lawmakers who were "100 percenters" two years ago, according to a computer-aided study by the Deseret Morning News. And most of that increase comes in donations from political action committees, businesses and individuals outside of lawmakers' districts.

As special-interest cash increases, political experts say it raises concerns about whether lawmakers are more beholden to the voters who elect them or the special interests that pay for campaigns.

Utah's campaign finance system "is not healthy," says Kirk Jowers, head of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. "Two previous national studies" on campaign finance "gave Utah an 'F' and a 'D-," said Jowers. "Everyday Utahns are disenfranchised through the special-interest giving" to legislators.

Tony Musci of Utah Common Cause, a government watchdog group, says Utah has some of the "loosest campaign finance laws" in the nation. "We have an open-door policy to giving" in local campaigns — and as the cost of campaigns rise, "there is even more tension" as candidates seek bigger and bigger donations from special-interest groups.

Deseret Morning News graphic Special-interest donations Requires Adobe Acrobat.

"The people of Utah have been wanting some kind of controls over (campaign) giving," said Jena Edvalson, executive director of UPNet, a local public service advocacy group.

But reform efforts have made no headway at the Legislature in recent years.

Big cash

Legislators who won their races raised $3.74 million in their latest elections, up from $2.7 million two years ago. Of that, $3.58 million came from special interests or the candidates' own pockets.

That means 95.7 percent of their money came from special interests or their own pockets this year, compared to 81.5 percent two years ago.

For its study, the Morning News defined special interests as corporations and their officers, lobbyists, trade and union groups, political action committees and people living outside a member's district. Political party groups were included as special interests because they in turn receive most of their money from special-interest groups.

Special-interest money is so plentiful that 30 members did not raise any money from regular constituents.