Utahns want ethics reform

We're hearing a lot about government ethics these days.

On his first full day in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that prohibits executive branch employees from accepting gifts from lobbyists. It also forbids anyone who works for the administration to leave and lobby the executive branch for the duration of his presidency. It furthermore precludes lobbyists hired by his administration from dealing with agencies on matters they lobbied about for two years.

As if to punctuate the need for this sort of reform, this week former state Rep. Mark Walker, involved in a recent scandal involving the race for state treasurer, and former state House Speaker Greg Curtis have been hired as lobbyists. Obama's order does not extend to Utah politics, of course. Utah's elected officials need to take action.

As the general session of the Utah Legislature gets under way, state lawmakers have a number of ethics proposals under consideration. Some changes are long overdue, such as banning personal use of leftover campaign funds. The Legislature also needs a workable ethics investigation/hearing process to handle complaints lodged against its members. The Deseret News has long championed a ban on lawmakers accepting gifts from lobbyists.

This past week, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. named a government ethics/political reform commission to determine why so many Utahns "lack confidence" in the state's political institutions. It will make recommendations to the Legislature and the public in November. We hope that lawmakers will take its recommendations seriously.

That so many elected officials ?— at so many levels — are talking about ethics reform is refreshing. A recent Deseret News/KSL-TV poll indicates a high level of support for changes in legislative ethics laws. Eighty-seven percent say all gifts to legislators should be banned, except small items such as a soft drink or a pen. Eighty-four percent say state officeholders should not be paid lobbyists for at least one year after leaving office. Seventy-seven percent said legislators and executive elected officers — current and retired — should not be able to use campaign funds for their personal use.

According to Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah and co-chairman of the newly empaneled Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy, Utah has some of the most lax campaign finance laws in the nation. That's hardly a proud distinction. Utah's laws should be on par with the rest of the nation, if not stricter.

None of this is to suggest that most Utahns believe there is widespread corruption in state politics. But one means to ensure the integrity of the process — since the personalities can change each election cycle — is to develop clear and enforceable laws and standards.

State lawmakers and members of the governor's new commission should take to heart the results of the latest Deseret News/KSL-TV poll on these issues. They are obviously of great import to Utahns who deserve laws and policies that instill confidence in their government and their leaders.