Utahns' opinions are sought on ethics reform

The Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy is hoping to get the word out: The commission wants to hear from the public at their meetings and on their Web site.

On Saturday morning, the commission met at the University of Utah's Eccles Broadcast Center to discuss a variety of ethics reform measures in an attempt to achieve their end goal: to increase voter confidence and turnout at elections.

"I look forward to hearing the public's opinion, over the next couple of months, about ethics reform," said commission member Tom Love.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. appointed the commission in response to low voter turnout in both primary and general elections. In recent elections, Utah hosted some of the lowest voter turnout in the nation. The commission, working on the belief that voter apathy stems, in large part, from scandals involving state government officials, is trying to help bring about ethics reform.

The problem, according to attorney and commission consultant David Hall, is that no matter what the commission ultimately recommends, the governor cannot mandate ethics reform to the state Legislature due to separation of power issues. The committee can make recommendations to the governor, and he, in turn, can make recommendations to the Legislature. Lawmakers can choose to take action on the recommendations or simply ignore them.

"I worry that you will make some excellent recommendations and nothing will come of them," said audience member and Utah State Board of Education member Kim Burningham.

One of the Legislature's recent attempts at ethics reform, HB345, will not actually produce much "reform" in the end. The bill, passed by the Legislature during the 2009 general session, prohibits certain elected officials from lobbying for one year after leaving office, but it does not actually apply in the majority of cases. The bill provides an exemption for a state official who lobbies on behalf of himself or a business with which he is associated, unless the primary activity of the business is lobbying or governmental relations.

"It's in my mind that this loophole was not the public's will," said Love. "It may have been the will of some legislators, but that creates a disconnect."

The will of the people is exactly what is needed to make the commission — and any attempts at ethics reform — successful, Burningham told the committee.

"It's up to the public to make it happen," said Burningham.

All commission meetings are open to the public, and the commission has vowed to set aside the last half hour of every meeting to hear public comment. The next meeting will be April 16 at 3 p.m. Location and further details will be posted on the commission's Web site, www.strengthendemocracy.org. The Web site also hosts a section for public input.

E-MAIL: kkuhn@desnews.com