Former House Speaker Greg Curtis spent just over $750 lobbying his former colleagues during the 2009 Legislature, his quarterly report to the state shows.
But Curtis never exceeded the current $50 limit on a meal for a lawmaker, so he didn't have to name any of his dining companions. The most the Sandy Republican ever spent was $47.35 each for two meals at Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.
He also reported taking lawmakers out for a bite at other restaurants, including the Soup Kitchen, Market Street, Sawadee, Little America, Buca Di Beppo and even a couple of burger joints, Crown Burger and Hires Big H.
Curtis told the Deseret News he chose restaurants where "you'd be hard pressed for somebody to eat $50 worth of food." He said as a legislator, he would rather have eaten with a lobbyist somewhere less lavish and avoided being named on a disclosure report.
Plus, Curtis said, under his contracts with clients, he has to pick up the bill. Some lobbyists are able to charge their clients directly for the cost of picking up meals. "I don't want to sound cheap," he said when asked if he attempted to be frugal to help his own bottom line.
The former speaker, who lost his bid for re-election last November to Democrat Jay Seegmiller, is registered with the state to lobby on behalf of 15 clients. His client list includes Gold Cross Ambulance, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Phillip Morris, eBay, Intermountain Healthcare and several cities.
Curtis said he's anxious to be out of the media spotlight. "I'll be glad when, hopefully, it goes away," he said, comparing lobbying to representing clients as a lawyer in front of local governments. "All I'm trying to do now is make a living."
He wasn't the only lobbyist who attracted media attention during the 2009 session that ended in March. So did another former lawmaker, Mark Walker. Walker had resigned from the Legislature in the midst of allegations he'd attempted to bribe his GOP primary opponent in the state treasurer's race. Walker pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
Unlike Curtis, though, Walker reported spending exactly $0 on legislators during the first quarter of the year. He was registered with the state to lobby on behalf of 10 clients, including SelectHealth, Southwest Ambulance and the Cigar Association of America.
Joe Demma, chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert whose office oversees financial disclosures, said only a handful of the more than 400 registered lobbyists spend money on lawmakers, whether for meals, entertainment or gifts.
Demma said the lieutenant governor's office doesn't scrutinize the reports to determine, for example, if lobbyists average the cost of a meal for multiple lawmakers to avoid hitting the $50 limit.
"Frankly, it's an honor system," Demma said. "They report, and we just accept the report." He said the office focuses instead on making sure the lobbyists file by the deadline, in this case midnight Friday.
As of May 12, lobbyists will be required to report the names of lawmakers for whom they spend $25 or more on a meal, or $10 or more on sports or arts tickets. Events to which all lawmakers are invited are excluded.
Much of the spending reported Friday was for such events. For example, Mike Washburn, a lobbyist for Thanksgiving Point, said nearly $2,900 was spent for a legislative event at the Museum of Ancient Life held for 262 unnamed public officials in February.
And Joel Campbell, a Brigham Young University journalism professor who lobbied for the Society of Professional Journalists and the Utah Press Association, hosted "Meet Legislators Day" for the press association at a cost of more than $1,000.
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