A rash of ethics reform bills will be put out for debate in the Utah Legislature next week.
But as is often the case with legislative reform, it's two steps forward, one step back, as House GOP leaders now say they won't get what they originally proposed — a ban on many gifts now given to legislators.
"We're moving toward full disclosure of gifts, instead," said House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, who is coordinating ethics reform in the 75-member House. "And even these (leadership) bills may be amended before we're done.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., in announcing his own ethics/political reform study commission two weeks ago, said Utah has some of the most lax government ethics and campaign laws in the nation, and reform must come.
Last year lobbyists gave lawmakers $170,000 in gifts, including expensive Utah Jazz tickets and meals, reports show. In 2007 they gave around $250,000.
In addition, while House Speaker David Clark, R-Santa Clara, said last month that the House Ethics Committee — split 4-4 between Republicans and Democrats — would hear all ethics bills, it now appears the ethics bills will be sent to one of the regular standing committees for public hearings, a committee that is two-thirds Republican.
"If the Ethics Committee heard the (ethics) bills, if Democrats didn't like them, (the bills) could be dead," Garn said. "It's a concern."
House and Senate Democrats have already said they want to push ethics reform further than Republicans want.
House and Senate GOP leaders will propose their own ethics bills, none of which have yet to be publicly released.
Senate Majority Assistant Whip Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, who has pushed reform bills in the past, said he will sponsor the gift disclosure bill. It will require every gift over $10 to be reported with the legislator's name but will not ban any gifts.
"This may make little difference inside" the Legislature, Bell said.
"But I really do hope" that full gift disclosure "brushes up the public's opinion" of the Legislature, said Bell.
Still, he can't say how many of the leadership's ethics bills will pass, or in what shape. "We are getting real pushback" from some senators who don't want the changes, he said.
Garn and Bell outlined the basic direction each leadership bill will take:
One year prohibition on a retiring legislator to become a paid lobbyist.
Restrictions on how a retired legislator's campaign fund can be used, with an eye toward stopping a former official from giving the money to himself. Incumbents could still spend money on themselves.
Disclosure of all gifts given by a lobbyist over $10 (including meals) to each individual legislator, with reporting still being done by the lobbyist, not the legislator. Legislators could still take expensive gifts from lobbyists.
Disclosure of all campaign contributions within five days after the check is cashed, keeping the current regular disclosure report deadlines.
Better definition of what a legislator's conflict of interest is, with training to show lawmakers how to avoid them.
GOP leaders will not deal this session with two items recommended by both Huntsman and Democrats — an independent ethics committee process and an advisory independent redistricting commission. Both those responsibilities will remain in-house, GOP leaders say.
Garn, who passed the state's first lobbyist gift disclosure bill 15 years ago, said even the modified leadership ethic bills this year are a great step forward in government openness and accountability.
But a review by the Deseret News of the non-leadership bills — both by Democrats and Republicans — already made public shows that non-leaders who are weighing in on ethics reform want to go further that what leaders are talking about.
For example, Rep. Steve Clark, R-Provo, in his HB139 wants legislators themselves to report the gifts they accept from lobbyists. (Currently, only lobbyists report what gifts they give legislators — and most of those gifts are not tied to the taking legislator's name, since the gift is under the $50 naming threshold).
There's also a new wrinkle coming into ethics reform this year — the desire by some Democrats and moderate Republicans to stop or hinder the practice of leaders, especially Republican leaders, giving large sums of money to their party colleagues.
"It is an insidious" process, says Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield. The large sums of money floating around, unrestricted even if reported, can warp internal legislative politics, he and others believe.
E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com
Some ethics bills are still being written, while others are still secret and won't be known until formally introduced.
Bills already filed and numbered on ethics reform include:
HB84, Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan: Makes a broad range of changes, including further disclosing by name which legislators take gifts, requires legislators to report their gifts, restricts personal use of campaign funds or give campaign money to another legislator or legislative candidate.
HB93, Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Millcreek: Sets up a five-member independent ethics commission, with members nominated by the governor and majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate.
HB103, Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay: Prohibits a legislator or other state elected official from becoming a paid lobbyists for one year after leaving office.
HB109, Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City: Restricts contributions to a state office, like governor, to $15,000, to a Senate candidate $500, and to a House candidate $200.
HB139, Rep. Steve Clark, R-Provo: Requires legislators to report all lobbyist gifts (lobbyists still report, as well), and that the legislators' reports be filed online and sent to each of their constituents.
HB213, Rep. Chris Johnson, D-Salt Lake: Bans almost all gifts to legislators, with several exceptions, like if the whole Legislature, committee or caucus is invited to an event.
HB232, Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville: Requires political issue and political action committees to file if they are working on city or county ballot issues.
HB268, Rep. Mark Wheatley, D-Murray: Legislators must file a report detailing any gifts and meals for which they paid less than market value — in other words complete legislative disclosure of gifts.
SB101, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake: Creates an independent ethics commission to hear complaints against statewide elected officers, like governor, and legislators, made up of three former judges, a former House member, a former senator. Can't hear complaints just before an election