Ethics reform fair for legislators, Utah

Judging from quotations attributed to them in a recent Bob Bernick column, Sen. Howard Stephenson (R-Draper) and Rep. Kevin Garn (R-Layton) do not like the ethics reform initiative we drafted. Nobody likes an "outsider" (if Utah voters can be called outsiders to the people's business) to come in and clean house for them. But after years of missed opportunities by the Legislature, it's up to the voters to enact ethics reforms that really mean something.

These two legislators appear mainly to be worried about two things: First, that the ethics initiative will keep legislators from getting jobs they want, and second, that it offends "due process" and will result in complaints that will ruin legislative reputations. We respectfully disagree. Legislators who would turn the chambers of the House or Senate into a "job fair" are putting the integrity of the lawmaking process at great risk. But for their status as legislators would they be getting the job offer in question? Is the job being offered to ensure voting support for an employer's interests?

"Due process" means adequate notice and a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal. The initiative more than satisfies these standards. In particular circumstances, legislators could obtain a "safe harbor" opinion that immunizes them from charges of misconduct.

While state officials in the executive branch, county and municipal employees and judges may be charged with ethical improprieties by a single complainant, the initiative takes three to file a complaint against a legislator and those three will have to bear the burden of financing their own case. Complaints are screened confidentially by an independent commission so that frivolous filings can be dismissed before they become known to the general public. If the charges are substantial, the legislator is entitled to a hearing before an impartial tribunal, with full rights of participation and legal counsel of his or her choosing at public expense.