This seems to be a reasonable plan. Glad to see it coming from our elected officials.

i'd like to see the whole package. if this story is reporting everything that's being considered, it doesn't go far enough.

the utahns for ethical government's initiative is rather harsh, but our state legislators haven't done anything meaningful to counter with.

wait and see, but for now, i plan to sign the initiative petition.

The Legislature's reform has NOTHING to do with the ridiculous ethics petition - these changes were in the works long before the ethics czar petition reared its head.

I find it amazing how many people will sign a petition without reading the legislation it will put into place yet they criticize congress for voting without reading a bill. If people read the initiative they will quickly see that it is more about changing power in the State than truly seeking to make a fair process for complaints.

So when was it? In 1994 when The Utah Legislature was on the verge of historic actions on term limits? All to dampen interest in Merrill Cook's term-limits initiative? So the legislature adopted their own version. But not one public office in Utah was ever term-limited out of office.

Why? Because before any of the limits were reached, Curt Bramble and company had already deep-sixed their cynical response to a legitimate proposal from cook.

Even if the legislature were to adopt some kind of positive change ethics legislation, the minute that said legislation actually had an impact on one of their corrupt Republican colleagues, they'd be falling over themselves to repeal it.

Face it. As long as the legislature can repeal any change made either by the electorate or by the legislature, (and yes, I know the second alternative there is completely implausible) by a simple majority vote, there will never be meaningful ethics reform in Utah.

This, of course, because the corrupt Republican convention system makes defeating an incumbent elected official in Utah nigh impossible.

Got accountability, Utah?

Answer: No.

For one thing this ethics panal should not have former judges or legislators on the panel. As the story noted, judges are the judicial arm of government and it would imply the judicial system interfering with the legislative system.

The panel should be made up of appointees who have never been in an elected or apointed posistion of government 4 years prior to this panel.

I don't like the secrecy part either, that is why we have unethical government now in the legislature. The only restriction on public disclosure is that no annonymous source reporting be allowed. If someone has a complaint against the legislature is must be public disclosure with names attached. Legislators have a right to know and confront those who accuse them.

Rep. Sheryl Allen has some nerve lecturing anyone about ethics after she told an audience at a meet the candidate event in Bountiful on Tuesday that ballot language on a proposal to float a bond for the Davis School District is "confusing" ... but she failed to disclose that she is the executive director of the Davis Education Foundation for the school district.

Talk about self-dealing....

Re: Bad Plan, I agree with the initial secrecy. we've seen in other states, such as Alaska, that opponents to a gov official can orchestrate dozens of bogus complaints that distract and defund the official as they address complaint after spurious complaint.

A question I have: is this measure just for the legislature, or does it also address elected officials in the executive branch?

Read the ethics initiative and you'll realize how crazy it is. Do not sign it.

The legislature has ONE chance to get it right. If they don't do it now they deserve what will be imposed on them by the citizen initiative.
What this article presents is a very small step. Get back to work now legislators... Or don't. It's up to you.

Well done Ridgway. You got a whole 6 lines into your diatribe before going after Bramble! You must be maturing...

I know the legislators that represent my senate and house district. I have made the effort to know them personally. Can those of you that complain about the Utah Legislature, even name yours? Or does it seem that it is some other districts legislator causing the problem? The same applies to Congress.

In my opinion Utah probably has the most ethical and responsible legislature out of the other 49. This statement however, is not meant to mean that there isn't room for improvement. Of course if you don't like your legislator, perhaps you should run or find someone that you can support to run.

I really don't like Senator Bramble or Stephenson, but since I don't live in Provo, or the south end of SL County I have very little to say about them, since their voters keep re-electing them.

I say be sure to read the initiative carefully before you sign it. Or you may get something similar to the "Hope and change" that Obama promised you. Or on the other hand that may be what you want.

Every election year the legislature is "on the verge of historic ethics reforn" - until they get themselves re-elected. And then the reform gets buried in the Rules Committee or some other deep hole they carved out for themselves. I have read the initiative petition and although it does have a couple of problems, I don't think this warrants throwing it out. I will probably sign the petition if the legislature does not act in a "meaningful way" in the upcoming general session.