Senate gives preliminary OK to bill banning Utah school districts from hiring lobbyists

SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would ban Utah public schools from hiring independent contractors for the sole purpose of lobbying.

Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, sponsor of SB123, doesn't think government should be allowed to lobby government.

"We all work very hard to pay those dollars to education, and I just hate to see them watered down," he said.

Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley, said school lobbying pits one district against another. "Shame on a school district that hires a lobbyist," she said. 

Jenkins acknowledged that organizations associated with school districts would still be allowed to lobby. "I just didn’t want to see this lobby get down to a school level," he said. 

The bill would not preclude districts or schools from employing government affairs specialists to represent their interests on Capitol Hill.

— Amanda Verzello