It's official: Goof means no gift tickets over $50

Goodbye, Utah Jazz tickets — at least the good ones. Farewell, rounds of golf at expensive country clubs.

Legal counsel confirmed this week that a mistake made by Utah legislators when they amended an ethics law earlier this year bans them from accepting gifts of tickets to sports, recreational or artistic events if the tickets are valued at more than $50.

"It looks like that's the way it is," House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, said Wednesday morning.

Legal counsel told GOP leaders in the House and Senate during a briefing on Tuesday that the ban on pricey tickets is the result of a mistake in a definition in SB156, a gift disclosure bill sponsored by Senate Assistant Majority Whip Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights. Bell is expected to be confirmed soon as lieutenant governor to new Gov. Gary Herbert.

"We just live with it," Garn said of the ban. And that's fine by him and, he believes, most other lawmakers.

"I don't think we'll change that" come the 2010 Legislature.

Yes, some lawmaker may well try to amend the gift disclosure law, either in January or later. "But I don't see it going anywhere," Garn said.

The 53 members of the House GOP caucus rarely close their meetings but did so Wednesday to privately discuss the $50 ban. They also considered two citizen initiatives that deal with the Legislature and a few other sensitive political matters. Senate Republicans usually close their caucuses. They did so Wednesday and also discussed those issues, a GOP Senate spokesman said.

"I answered about 20 questions" from House Republicans "about what they can and can't do now" regarding gifts, Garn said. To be safe, Garn said he told them, "about the only thing you can accept are meals" from lobbyists. Anything more and they could be opening themselves up to public criticism for not following the new gift-taking law, he said.

A brief history: After negative citizen reaction a year ago over several ethics complaints against three legislators (for various reasons all were dismissed by the Legislature's ethics committee) GOP leaders promised ethics reform in the 2009 Legislature.

Several bills were passed, not going as far as some wished, but leaders characterized them as a good "step forward."

Bell's SB156 was aimed at further disclosing which legislators were taking gifts from lobbyists. The intent was not to ban any gifts.

Any meal or beverage over $25 is supposed to be accompanied in the lobbyist's report with the name of the legislator who took it. Any other gift over $10 carries a name, and any ticket to a sporting, recreational or artistic event comes with a lawmaker's name, no matter the cost of the ticket.