Lobbyists spent tens of thousands of dollars entertaining legislators in the recently completed 2005 Legislature, new lobbyist reports show.
But there's a new twist in the gift-giving and gift-taking: During an annual St. George post-legislative weekend, some of the legislators who attended the golfing trip picked up part of their green fees — just enough out-of-pocket expenses so lobbyists don't have to list the legislators' names on their reports.
Several lobbyists who went on the March 3-5 weekend list green fees paid at $49.99.
Said one of the lobbyists: "You can't get a round of golf" for $49.99 at Washington County courses. And some of the legislators golfing with the lobbyists paid the difference so that the lawmakers didn't have to accept a $50 gift.
State law says if a registered lobbyist spends more than $50 a day on a legislator or executive branch employee, the gift-taker's name must be listed on the report.
Did the lobbyists pay $49.99 so the lawmakers' name wouldn't be listed?
Robin Riggs, a well-known lobbyist and former Gov. Mike Leavitt's legal counsel, confirmed that the lawmakers paid part of the fees to keep their names off the report. Riggs is now legal counsel for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and handles a few private clients as well.
A Senate committee this past session killed a bill that would have lowered the legislator-naming gift threshold to $10. And a Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates found in January that 81 percent of Utahns want lobbyists' gifts to lawmakers banned altogether.
Riggs reported spending more than $441 on breakfasts, lunches and golf games for lawmakers — but never exceeding the $50 limit. According to Riggs' report, he spent $49.99 on golf in St. George on March 3 and again on March 4.
Having legislators pick up part of their round of golf or expensive dinner is a new twist in what has become over the past decade the game of lobbyists entertaining some legislators without having to disclose the gift-takers' names.
Several years ago it was common practice for some lobbyists, working together, to split the cost of a Jazz ticket or round of golf, each taking half or a third of the cost to get each lobbyists' share under $50, and thus the legislator's name wouldn't be listed.
Legislators themselves changed lobbyist reporting rules to get around that "trick," as one legislator called it.
But now, if a legislator is willing to kick in some cash himself, there's another way around the naming law.
About a dozen legislators went on the early March trip, two lobbyists said. "There were a few new" legislators attending, but mostly it was the same group of "legislators who like to golf," said one lobbyist who has attended for several years.
New lobbyist financial disclosure reports were due Monday night. And it may take a day or so for all the reports to trickle in and totals of gift-giving to be made.
Once again, it appears that the University of Utah provided the most to legislators and other government officials — just over $10,000. That total includes almost $7,000 in basketball tickets and meals to lawmakers and their spouses, no single gift exceeding the $50 limit.
The U. also gave away seven sets of Fiesta Bowl tickets, but none went to legislators.
A difference in lobbyist gift-giving in the 2005 Legislature appears to be closure of the Capitol itself. Over the past 15 years, various groups held receptions in the Capitol rotunda at lunch or dinner time.
But there is no large space to hold such gatherings in the temporary House and Senate facilities in the new west office building on Capitol Hill, and the Capitol is closed for four years for remodeling.
Some groups, it appears, had to spend more money to host receptions in downtown hotels, providing vans or other transportation for legislators from Capitol Hill.
Rural lawmakers, for example, were treated to six breakfasts, each costing $102, courtesy of Michael Peterson of the Utah Rural Electric Association. The powerful Utah Education Association's lobbying tab, though, hit just $59.66, for a lunch, breakfast and reception, while the Utah Public Employees Association came up with almost 10 times that amount, $573.21 for meals, candy and pens.
The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., a contributor to a number of legislative campaigns, said it spent no money to lobby lawmakers, despite a controversial bill that would have banned smoking in private clubs. That bill failed to win legislative approval.
John T. Nielsen, who lobbied against a bill that initially threatened to tax Intermountain Health Care, bought dinner for 155 legislators and their family members at the Hale Center Theater in mid-February at a cost of nearly $2,000.
The Deseret Morning News reported spending $3,375 to supply lawmakers with 150 copies of the newspaper daily throughout the session.
And even though freshman Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said during his election campaign that his top executives and staff would not be accepting gifts, some apparently have. Currently, the governor's office does not have a policy on accepting gifts, Huntsman's spokeswoman Tammy Kikuchi said.
"It wasn't an issue this session," Kikuchi said. "We are reviewing the possibility of a policy."
The head of Huntsman's rural affairs office, Gayle McKeachnie, accepted $51 in tickets to a Utah State University basketball game. McKeachnie is also a USU trustee.
And several lobbying groups reported providing refreshments of one kind or another not only to groups of legislators but to the governor's staff, as well.
Cornerstone Research and Development reported spending $325.18 on hot chocolate for lawmakers and Huntsman's staff on Jan. 11 and Jan. 14.
And several Utah-based companies, including Neways Inc. and NuSkin Enterprises, gave away more than $2,500 in product samples during the session, mostly to lawmakers and their staff members but also to members of the executive branch.
Contributing: Josh Loftin
E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com