Leaving office — with cash

Leaving the Legislature can be lucrative.

Former state Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi, recently gave himself $25,000 from leftover campaign funds as he left office, including repaying a $9,000 campaign loan. Former Sen. Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, similarly paid himself $24,200, and former Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, handed himself $17,500.

While that's more than just pocket change, consider that recently defeated former House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, has a whopping $265,000 left over in his personal campaign fund that he could give to himself, if he chooses. Curtis, who is now lobbying the Legislature, said he won't give himself the money but may spend it on a future campaign or give it to charities or other politicians.

Such personal use of money comes while the lion's share of such Utah legislative campaign funds comes from special interests with business before the Legislature — so essentially members can pocket special-interest money, and plenty of it. And it is all legal.

Members do not need to wait until they leave office to benefit personally, and much of their spending last year went for such personal benefits as paying for clothes, baby-sitting, toll-lane passes, gifts, parking tickets and apartment rent.

Changes are likely to come this year about how former legislators and statewide elected officials such as the governor can spend leftover campaign funds on themselves after they leave office. Several bills on the subject have been introduced, and GOP leaders in both houses have a "consensus" bill on that as part of their ethics reform measures.

However, the leaders' bill only restricts campaign-fund spending after someone leaves office. Still unregulated would be campaign funds of sitting lawmakers.

The Deseret News analysis of campaign spending in 2008 shows that $1 out of every $4 spent by the 90 current legislators who faced election went for something beyond normal campaign efforts — such as out-of-state travel, donations to charities and to other politicians, and paying membership fees to a variety of groups.

Thus, many current lawmakers are using their campaign funds as a kind of legislative supplemental account — paying for things they believe have some connection to their serving in office. And the GOP leaders' ethics bills now moving through the session make it clear lawmakers don't intend to give those monies up.