Limits on personal use of campaign funds hit snag

A bill that would limit legislators' use of their campaign accounts to just political spending, or expendi- tures related to their public offices, was held Monday so the sponsor could take out any references to "reasonable" use of those accounts by sitting lawmakers.

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, said he could tell from the debate in the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee that he didn't have the votes needed to get the whole bill out of the committee.

He asked that the committee vote out SB165 anyway, and he promised he would make the amendments on the Senate floor. But committee chairman Sen. Pete Knudson, R-Brigham City, said no, that he wanted the bill to come out in the amended form.

Bell's bill has two parts: The first part would be to give "guidance" to sitting legislators, the governor, other statewide elected officials and State School Board members, on "reasonable" use of the current funds in their campaign accounts. Bell doesn't want those dollars going to personal use.

Over recent years, governors have raised millions of dollars in their campaign accounts, while a Senate leader now has around $130,000 in his account and a House leader has more than $330,000 in his personal campaign and his PAC accounts.

Under current law, such money can be raised from anyone, in any amount, and spent in any way, even just giving it to themselves.

The second part of Bell's bill would limit where campaign funds can be spent once an officeholder leaves office.

Reading the comments of Knudson and Sens. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, and Bill Hickman, R-St. George, Bell could tell that he didn't have the three votes needed to get the whole bill out. So he suggested that any references to use of current funds, for all categories of candidates and officeholders now in office, be removed.

That would allow current legislators, governors and so on to still use their campaign funds anyway they wished, even giving it to themselves. Bell said when people gave to candidates, they never envisioned that the recipients would use the money for personal items. In 2007, one House member gave himself $6,300 from his campaign account to make up for money he lost in income while in session.

A Deseret Morning News analysis earlier this year showed that on average in 2007, legislators used $1 in every $3 spent from their campaign accounts for items that could be construed as for personal use, including spending to get their cars repaired, buy clothes for themselves and their spouses and pay for event tickets.