Year for ethics reforms?

A group of legislators — moderate Republicans and Democrats — would like to see lawmakers do something about their own ethics, specifically personal use of campaign funds and taking of lobbyists' gifts.

Two bill files have already been opened for the 2009 Legislature — one by Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, and one by Sen. Pat Jones, D-Holladay.

"I want transparency, both in campaign spending and gift-taking," said Mascaro, who added he didn't run so-called ethics reform bills the past two years after "certain members of (House GOP) leadership asked me not to."

But after the House moved "back to the same old mind-set — where Republican leaders took over the final weeks of the (2008) Legislature and just did what they wanted" with little concern for other GOP members of the 55-person House Republican caucus, "I decided to go ahead this year" with ethics reform, Mascaro said.

Utah has some of the most liberal campaign, conflict-of-interest and lobbyist gift-giving laws in the United States. Legislators and candidates can take any amount of money from anyone, can spend their campaign accounts anyway they wish — even giving themselves cash — can vote on any bill, even those with clear conflicts of interest, and can take any "intangible" gift from a lobbyist.

Any "intangible" gift — like a Jazz ticket — valued at over $50 in one 24-hour period must now be reported by the lobbyist with the name of the legislator who took it.

But over time lobbyists, who now report their own gift-giving, have found creative ways around the by-name legislative reporting. Each year the 104 lawmakers take around $200,000 worth of gifts from lobbyists, reports show. But less than 20 percent of that money comes with a legislator's name attached.

Mascaro said he and Jones may work together on their ethics ideas — like they did in the early 2000s when for several legislatures in a row they unsuccessfully ran the Jones-Mascaro income tax reform bills.

Mascaro said he wants legislators themselves to keep track of, and report publicly, the gifts they take from lobbyists. No gifts would be outlawed. But every gift valued at more than $20 would be reported by each legislator, with the lobbyist's name attached.

"We are the ones elected by the people, not the lobbyists. And we should be the ones held accountable for taking lobbyists' gifts, not the lobbyists," said Mascaro. Lobbyists would still do their own reporting, so each entities' reports would act as a check and balance for accuracy, he added.

Mascaro also wants to restrict the use of campaign funds "only for actual expenses associated with a campaign's cost."

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