They couldn't take gifts from lobbyists.
And they couldn't raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash from special interests.
They couldn't swear or hold a fundraiser for their political party or colleagues.
But, depending on interpretations, they could also be stopped from taking a job they want and would have to disclose more of their family's finances and business connections.
Utah legislators would operate under significantly different rules if Utahns voted next year to adopt a far-ranging ballot initiative sponsored by Utahns for Ethical Government. Violations of a tough new "code of ethics" by legislators could lead to public sanctions, even getting kicked out of the Legislature.
Whether most of the initiative is a good thing, leading toward more responsive and honest lawmaking, or whether much of it is unconstitutional, unenforceable or just plain petty, depends on your opinion of how the Legislature now acts.
"Under this initiative, any three people in Utah could (bring a complaint and) ruin your reputation," said House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, who has attended detailed briefings on the initiative presented by legislative attorneys. "It has so many unintended consequences, you could be a legislator trying to do the right thing in your business and your legislative work, and you get nailed. It is ugly and mean-spirited."
Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake, a lawmaker who has run so-called government reform bills before, said even if the initiative is flawed — and he's not ready to say it is — it is better to pass it now and let legislators "tweak" it later.
"The initiative's heart is in the right place," said McCoy, an attorney. "The overall effort is right. We pass laws all the time that are not perfect and we fix them in our annual sessions."
Should the initiative be later proven to contain some legal or policy problems "it is not a reason not to do it," said McCoy. He said he knows general concepts of the initiative and likes those but has not studied the document carefully.
"I absolutely support this work (in the initiative), and the public should support it, too," McCoy said.
Numerous public opinion polls over the years show that Utahns do want extensive ethics reform in the Legislature, McCoy added. Many are discouraged at the Legislature's failure to adopt more stringent ethical standards on its own.
There's no doubt that the initiative, were it to become law, would change common legislative practices — such as how lobbyists interact with lawmakers, how legislators raise and spend their campaign funds, how GOP and Democratic legislative leaders are picked by their caucus colleagues and even how legislators talk among themselves and to the public.
"It would absolutely change how the Legislature works," Garn said. "But it would also change a lot of faces up there. I think many legislators would resign rather than subject themselves to this — reputations could be destroyed, lives could be destroyed" over partisan politics or personal grudges.
A point-by-point analysis of the 25-page initiative by the newspaper can be found under related content on this page. The initiative itself can be found at www.utahnsforethicalgovernment.org/initiative.
Petition sponsors will soon start the process of gathering the required 95,000 voter signatures. If they achieve that goal by next April, the initiative will be on the November 2010 ballot for voter approval or rejection.
For all the initiative sponsors' hopes, or all the concerns raised by its detractors, it should be remembered that any initiative adopted by citizens is just a state law — and by majority vote the 104 part-time legislators can change or repeal any law, which is a regular occurrence during the general session.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said the initiative is so extreme that it violates basic constitutional rights — and as such can't be amended into legality.
"The entire initiative seems to fly in the face of the Constitution," Stephenson said. "It seems to suspend the basic rights of free speech, free association and due process. I don't know why the (initiative's) sponsors are so brazen as to attempt this."
Former GOP state House member Kim Burningham, chairman of UEG, says he sees no unconstitutional readings in the initiative. "It is not a violation of free speech to limit campaign donations, the federal government does that, as do many states. It is not a violation of due process" not to be able to take the commission's actions to court. "The commission only makes a recommendation to the Legislature; no one has been found guilty in that," said Burningham.
The initiative sets up a code of conduct for lawmakers and an "independent" ethics commission to investigate and either recommend discipline against wrongdoers or dismissal as unworthy complaints against a legislator.
At present, members of the House and Senate themselves, as outlined in the state Constitution, ultimately decide guilt or innocence of accused legislators and impose any penalties for ethics violations. That wouldn't change under the initiative, noted Burningham.
Indeed, even if a legislator admitted wrongdoing before the proposed commission or was recommended guilty of an infraction by the commission, his colleagues could find him innocent or could decide there would be no penalty for the violation.
But Garn said in reality a formal complaint brought against a legislator "presumes you are guilty unless you can prove yourself innocent. We live in a 'gotcha' political atmosphere — and you are got" under the initiative no matter how innocent you may be.
Garn ticks off a long list of what he says are severe problems with the initiative.
"I can say that if passed, this law will be in the courts for years — millions of taxpayer dollars wasted" in the legal fight.
Burningham said previously introduced bills setting up an independent ethics commission (which have failed) have carried fiscal notes of around $200,000. He sees no reason why the initiative, if adopted by voters, would be much more expensive. The initiative says that each year the Legislature will appropriate at least $472,000 to the new legislative ethics commission and its staff.
Said McCoy: The Legislature "has only nibbled around the corners" of true ethics reform. "The heavy lifting — like this initiative — has not been done. And it is perfectly appropriate for citizens to say, 'We'll do it for you,' if the Legislature itself won't."
Garn says the challenge for politicians opposing the initiative is to make cogent arguments on its real dangers while overcoming the feelings of some who say legislators are only trying to protect their turf and perks.
Ethics initiative major points
Sets up a five-member ethics commission.
Any three Utahns could make a complaint against a legislator.
Commissioners would investigate and dismiss or make a disciplinary recommendation to the Legislature, which could dismiss the matter or discipline the lawmaker.
Campaign contributions would be limited to $2,500 per individual or $5,000 per PAC. No corporate giving. Lawmakers couldn't give themselves campaign cash.
No lobbyist gifts to legislators would be allowed except a "light refreshment."
e-mail: bbjr@desnews.com