Utah debates ethics reform

OGDEN — On a small stage Monday at Weber State University, it again became clear that the debate over ethics reform in Utah politics doesn’t fall neatly along party lines.

At issue is a proposed ballot initiative that, among other things, would create a statewide commission to deal with ethical breaches among Utah politicians.
“The unintended consequences make this a nightmare,” said Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, describing the ballot proposal.

“They have a vested interest in remaining unregulated,” responded Alan Smith, a Salt Lake City lawyer talking about Utah lawmakers arguing against the plan.

Hillyard and Smith were invited to represent both sides of the proposal in a debate sponsored by the Richards Institute for Politics at WSU.

The group Utahns for Ethical Government had filed its ethic reform initiative with the lieutenant governor’s office in early August and is gathering signatures to get it on next year’s ballot.

As the Weber State event wore on, politicians past and present were in the crowd and at the microphone, practically outnumbering students who had come to see the debate.

There were questions from the audience about limiting campaign contributions, limiting the reform plan to just legislators and public opinion about the GOP-dominated Utah Legislature.

“Utah is one of the few states with no independent ethics commission,” said Smith, who helped draft the initiative.

But Hillyard said the proposal was not well written or well thought out.

“Rather than create another bureaucracy, we want to go with transparency,” argued Hillyard, first elected to the Legislature in 1980.

The Utah GOP’s central committee, the governing body of the party, recently announced it opposes the Utahns For Ethical Government initiative. But another group of lawmakers, including former Republican Gov. Olene Walker and various Democrats, stood up days later to support the reform plan. That same type of political schism among the GOP was present in the audience at the debate.

Both presenters at the event did agree some sort of change is needed. Utah lawmakers are talking about making legislative changes on their own in the next session.

But sitting front row was Richard Richards, founder of the institute and former national chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Richards, an Ogden resident, said he has not decided yet about supporting or fighting the proposal.

“We do need some form of ethics reform,” said Richards, who also is a former lobbyist.

Initiative supporters must collect 95,000 voter signatures by April 15 to have the Utah electorate decide if their plan is the reform plan of choice.