Scott Daniels, a Democratic Utah House member from Salt Lake City, limps around the Capitol, hobbled by a nagging foot injury that won't heal.
But it's not his gait that makes Daniels unique. He has become, in just a few years in the House, the legislator of lost causes. "Lost causes? Yeah, that sounds about right," Daniels says.
Or maybe after the 2002 elections the last liberal standing? "There you go," he said jokingly.
The former 3rd District judge, seen as a rising star of the Utah bench before he resigned to run for attorney general in 1992, often pursues issues that have little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
From gun control to death-penalty changes, truth in advertising, restricting public officials from becoming lobbyists or forcing open caucus meetings for all legislators, his bills fall by the wayside year after year.
Monday, Daniels and a few Democratic colleagues, who have already been labeled the dissident Democrats, held a Capitol press conference pushing one of his bills — an attempt to change the state's Open Meetings Act to require the majority Republicans to hold open party caucuses.
"It is the right thing to do," he said. "We should have a vote on this bill. Make them take a public stand on having closed-door caucuses."
While his issues may appear popular on public opinion polls, many GOP and Democratic legislators alike in the House and Senate don't look kindly on the type of reform Daniels is pushing.
"I want to give my constituents a voice," says Daniels, who adds he knows from the get-go that some of his bills won't pass. But he hopes that all will get a public hearing, which hasn't been the case at times.
In the 2003 session that began Monday Daniels has pre-filed or is working on bills dealing with gun control, open caucuses and an accused criminal's competency to stand trial, among others.
In HB63, Daniels proposes to "about double" the cost of concealed weapon permit fees.
"It will be an interesting debate on constitutional principles," he says.
Second Amendment advocates say Utahns shouldn't be charged a fee to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to carry a gun for protection of self, family and home.
Daniels says people should bear their fair share of the cost for such rights, and such fees, like court filing fees, are constitutional as long as there are procedures to waive the fee for the truly poor. Current concealed weapons permit fees "only pay about two-thirds cost" of conducting background checks, overseeing the permits, renewals and so on, he says.
"Part of the bill is a section, just like in court fees, that says if you can't afford a concealed weapon permit fee, you sign an affidavit saying you can't, and the fee is waived."
Daniels questions whether the gun advocates' reason for opposing raising the fees is sympathy for poor people, or that they don't want to pay the whole cost of the permit.
"If you favor constitutional gun rights, you should support this bill because it provides for a waiver," says Daniels.
He will also, again, push his bill that would require state-conducted criminal background checks on all guns sold at gun shows. That bill didn't even get a hearing until the 2002 session. "They brought that bill out before we adjourned for the Winter Olympics (last February). And then they killed it." Daniels was told leaders wanted it out of the way before the international media and visitors arrived. "For two years, I couldn't even get that bill out of House Rules (committee) for a public hearing."
His bill last year that would repeal Utah's concealed weapons law didn't get far, either. Republicans "killed that one real quick," but visiting French Olympic journalists still caught wind of it and an article appeared about it in a French newspaper.
Despite the setbacks, Daniels said he enters the 2003 session feeling pretty good about himself. "I used to come home complaining, bitter, and my wife would say stop griping or quit" the Legislature. "I have come to grips with (losing most of his bills) and I'm feeling better about it." Daniels said while at times he feels alone in the 104-member Legislature because of some of his views, he has been well treated by colleagues in both parties.
Rep. Dave Hogue, R-Riverton, is one Republican who appreciates Daniels' and others' points of view.
"We're a part-time Legislature. We need these real-life experiences that people bring," says Hogue, a member of the House's mainstream GOP caucus. "On some legal issues, I've asked Scott his opinion. After all, he was a judge and president of the bar." Hogue says Daniels and former Rep. Dave Jones "used to get a lot of flak" on their gun control bills. One time, Hogue received such nasty e-mail about the sponsors of those bills he took the missives to Capitol security, believing the senders might be violating the law against threatening a legislator.
"At times, I've openly supported Democrats getting a chance to present their case. I believe that is the right of every legislator — each of us. I don't believe we should beat down someone because of their views or bills," Hogue said. "I didn't support any of those gun bills. But I did support Scott's right to be heard."
"I don't mind sponsoring bills that will fail," said Daniels. Unlike some legislators, he said he doesn't care if he does poorly on the Deseret News' biennial legislative report card, which measures the success ratios of lawmakers' bills. In the 2001 and 2002 legislatures combined, Daniels was 5-for-17, a 29 percent success ratio, the 11th-lowest ratio out of 75 House members. Daniels does give up on controversial issues if he's educated otherwise. He abandoned a bill last year that would have outlawed smoking in private clubs. "I was concerned about the health of the employees, who had to work in a heavy-smoke environment. But the public health, heart and lung groups didn't support me. And some of my smoking constituents complained that their private clubs were about the only place outside of their houses where they could smoke. So I gave it up."
After last year's redistricting, Daniels' district now stretches from near 700 East, up through the University of Utah neighborhoods, up Parleys Canyon all the way to the western border of Park City in Summit County. It's a district that with his chronic ailing foot — which has gotten so bad he's even consider having it amputated and walking with a prosthesis — he can't traverse easily.
For the most part, his constituents are upscale, progressive and well educated. "They understand Democrats are a small minority in the Legislature. They expect to have their views articulated. If there aren't votes (in the House or Senate) to carry the day — and in my case often there aren't — they understand that."
E-MAIL: bbjr@desnews.com