Be honest about all legislative gifts

Imagine that, sometime this spring, a state lawmaker accepts free tickets to watch Real Salt Lake play.

We would guess that even the most forgiving observer would find an ethical problem with this, given the Legislature's decision during this session to help fund a soccer stadium that will keep the team here. Regardless of intent, such a gift would appear to be a quid pro quo.

And yet such a hypothetical situation probably would not publicly be reported. The soccer team could argue that it is not the subject of any pending legislation, and therefore no reporting would be required.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. took a big step last week when he signed an executive order that imposes new ethical standards for executive branch employees. Those standards prohibit the receipt of most gifts, prohibits nepotism in hiring and in contracts, and impose a two-year cooling-off period before former employees can approach a state agency as a lobbyist.

The policy isn't an iron-clad prohibition on gifts. Employees could reimburse the gift-giver and keep what was given. It is, as the governor's office says, a common-sense approach to the problem.

But common-sense approaches are easier in the executive branch than among part-time lawmakers.

The legislative branch has rules, too, but they are much too easily circumvented. Supposedly, anything worth more than $50 must be reported publicly, but many lobbyists deftly split the cost of a gift, divide them among all members of a lawmaker's family or find other ways to avoid reporting them. A recent Deseret Morning News report found that lawmakers reported receiving $115,698 in gifts last year. But it is likely that more than that was received and never reported because the law is too broad.

We don't expect lawmakers to follow the governor's example, but they ought to seriously take into account the effects of the current set of rules on their own reputations. The law's loopholes have not kept them from bad publicity concerning the gifts they accept. This newspaper and others have continually investigated and reported on how they avoid disclosure. And the public has taken notice. Opinion polls consistently show a majority of people would like to see an end to the giving of gifts in return for access and votes.