Proposed ethics: Too strict to live by?

They couldn't take gifts from lobbyists.

And they couldn't raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash from special interests.

They couldn't swear or hold a fundraiser for their political party or colleagues.

But, depending on interpretations, they could also be stopped from taking a job they want and would have to disclose more of their family's finances and business connections.

Utah legislators would operate under significantly different rules if Utahns voted next year to adopt a far-ranging ballot initiative sponsored by Utahns for Ethical Government. Violations of a tough new "code of ethics" by legislators could lead to public sanctions, even getting kicked out of the Legislature.

Whether most of the initiative is a good thing, leading toward more responsive and honest lawmaking, or whether much of it is unconstitutional, unenforceable or just plain petty, depends on your opinion of how the Legislature now acts.

"Under this initiative, any three people in Utah could (bring a complaint and) ruin your reputation," said House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, who has attended detailed briefings on the initiative presented by legislative attorneys. "It has so many unintended consequences, you could be a legislator trying to do the right thing in your business and your legislative work, and you get nailed. It is ugly and mean-spirited."

Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, a lawmaker who has run so-called government reform bills before, said even if the initiative is flawed — and he's not ready to say it is — it is better to pass it now and let legislators "tweak" it later.

"The initiative's heart is in the right place," said McCoy, an attorney. "The overall effort is right. We pass laws all the time that are not perfect and we fix them in our annual sessions."

Should the initiative be later proven to contain some legal or policy problems "it is not a reason not to do it," said McCoy. He said he knows general concepts of the initiative and likes those but has not studied the document carefully.

"I absolutely support this work (in the initiative), and the public should support it, too," McCoy said.

Numerous public opinion polls over the years show that Utahns do want extensive ethics reform in the Legislature, McCoy added. Many are discouraged at the Legislature's failure to adopt more stringent ethical standards on its own.