Legislators need to put the public's interest first

Utah has the fastest lawmakers in the West. They can pass 453 laws in 45 days — 10 a day. Lawmakers live up to their name; they make laws — and lots of them. Voters must be measuring lawmakers' success that way because they keep voting them back into office. But should that be the measure of a successful lawmaker, or should it be how effective he or she is in promoting the public's interest?

The Republican Party overwhelmingly controls both houses of state government and can pass laws without much debate and do flip-flops in a flash as it did with funding the soccer stadium by taking away control from established local government entities. Maybe members of the party have adopted Sen. Curt Bramble's approach to lawmaking as he explained to The Deseret News editorial board, "…that government doesn't work best when elected representatives are constantly, and frivolously, overruled by the citizens they are elected to make decisions for."

They say they are the party of limited and less government control, yet keep passing laws that further increase the size and cost of state government; that they demand strong ethics in their leaders — honesty, integrity, morality and accountability — yet put off making significant ethics reform in regulating their own behavior and disclosing campaign finances. They say they want open government yet continue to pass laws without the vigorous public debate that good policy-making requires.

We like to believe we elect people who are ethical, abide by the law and police themselves, but we sometimes find otherwise. When it comes to ethics reform, only minor cosmetic changes are made to appease the public. They have made public office a full-time part-time job with benefits; and given themselves the option to leave office and return with special visiting privileges the average citizen does not have. Democrat lawmakers should also share in the problems that plague our state government. For too long, they seem content to hang on to their seats, rather than vigorously fighting for making state government solve the problems facing our citizens.