Ethics-reform issues that lawmakers will likely discuss

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008 12:49 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Some ethics reform likely to come before lawmakers next month:

• Banning gifts by lobbyists to legislators: Last year lobbyists gave lawmakers more than $280,000 in gifts, including meals and Jazz tickets.

• Personal use of campaign funds by lawmakers: One House member last year gave himself $6,000 from his campaign account, others pay for car repairs and buy new clothes.

• Limits to campaign contributions: Currently legislative, gubernatorial and other state office candidates can raise any amount of money from any source — opening up $30,000 donations in a governor's race, and some incumbent lawmakers getting 100 percent of their campaign cash from special interests who have business before the Legislature.

• Ethical wrongdoing: House and Senate members are the only ones who can bring an ethics complaint against a colleague, and that complaint is heard only by other House and Senate members.

• Redistricting: Every decade legislators redraw their own district boundaries, in effect picking their own voters.

• Conflicts of interests: Currently, legislators must vote on every bill, even if they have a clear conflict of interest.

Recent comments

To Jan: Its almost impossible to oust an incumbant with the...

George | Dec. 3, 2008 at 1:53 p.m.

Sorry George that you do not know that term limitations already...

Jan | Dec. 3, 2008 at 1:34 p.m.

Sorry but the UEA is a special interest group. They act just like a...

Anonymous | Dec. 3, 2008 at 12:57 p.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

Hatch, Bennett oppose health bill

Thank you both for standing up against this horrendous scheme which will...

I, representative of many, would like to purchase less government service....

Where is the Party tonight! we should pack it in and have a blast! Name the...

Armed man robs restaurant

this place is good for the area and the people work hard for what they...

job from the sisterhood. Sarah in her interviews, most of them on Fox, where...

My 1st grade teacher was reading to us from the Bible when the principal came...

Twilight could be so much better

Hopefully this is not the intellectual pursuit mothers are teaching their...

Let's show a little class and sportsmanship this rivalry week. I know it's...

BYU records with win

Even this BYU fan admits that was funny! Now, GO AWAY.

Students protest animal testing

How about showing the things that the research does for mankind??? How about...

Advertisements