While Lawrence says Hughes offered her campaign cash, not personal cash, to change her vote, Utah law allows legislative candidates to spend their campaign money on anything, even just give it to themselves. Indeed, last year one House member gave himself $6,000 from his campaign account to make up for wages he said he lost by serving in the Legislature.

Hughes emphasized that Lawrence misunderstood his comments and he never asked her not to vote on the voucher bill. He said he told Lawrence she didn't have to be the "flag-carrier" for vouchers, she didn't have to be up front in the voucher fight. She apparently misunderstood that he was asking her to miss the voucher vote, and he didn't mean that at all, he said.

Riesen defeated Lawrence in the 2006 elections, so she never got a vote on the 2007 voucher bill.

Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, who signed the complaint against Hughes, says that there had been "scuttlebutt" for some time that campaign cash offers were made to 2006 legislative candidates if they would vote for vouchers. He named five races and candidates. However, a quick review of those candidates' financial filings show that while opponents to anti-voucher candidates/incumbents did get donations from pro-voucher groups, they were nowhere near $50,000. (One candidate got $10,000, while she got nearly $20,000 from Republican Party PACs and GOP legislators who wanted her to defeat the Democratic incumbent, normal contributions in a competitive race.)

Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, one of those alleged to have been approached by pro-voucher groups, said he was never approached because he was always anti-voucher. "Those groups gave to both my Republican and Democratic opponents, but not to me," he said.

Several legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, said it is common for special interest groups to provide campaign money to legislators and candidates who agree with their issues, but in their experience those donations are not connected to any specific vote, or set of votes. And while both pro- and anti-voucher groups have been, and are now, financially backing candidates who agree with their side on vouchers, no conditions are set on that support, in 2006 or now.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com