With some trepidation, a number of ethics bills were moved Monday to the floor of the Senate.
The largest of the bills outlines the rules that would detail the operations of an independent ethics commission created by a proposed constitutional amendment.
Even though it received unanimous consent in committee and has 28 or 29 senators signed on as co-sponsors, Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said he's looking at two amendments to the bill.
"That's what's good about having public input," Valentine said, though he declined to go into the details of what the amendments would entail.
Whatever the changes are, they won't be enough for the Utahns for Ethical Government -- which is collecting signatures for its own ethics changes.
The idea of a constitutional amendment in regard to ethics is flawed, said Dixie Huefner with UEG, because it may remove the citizens' ability to weigh in.
That's because the commission would be guided by rules, not law.
"I think rules are under the radar," Huefner said. "They just don't get the same kind of attention ... that statutes do."
The committee debated Monday morning about the specifics of the rules -- including the high bar for making an ethics complaint and an even higher bar for a complaint to make it into the light of day.
Two citizens would have to bring a complaint forward, including one with firsthand knowledge of an ethics violation.
Two lawmakers could bring a complaint forward with less evidence, though Huefner said they'd be unlikely to because of the threat of political payback.
The five-member commission would have to vote 4-1 to pass a complaint on to a legislative ethics committee for action.
Sen. Dan Liljenquist, R-Bountiful, defended the standard.
"Their character is on trial, and I think legislators have an interest in making sure they have due process," he said.
Less hotly debated but also potential game-changers are two bills sponsored by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, that allow lawmakers to abstain from voting. While the part-time legislators can mention a conflict of interest on a bill, they are currently required to vote yes or no on every bill if present.
All the bills now go to the Senate floor for debate. They join four bills and two resolutions coming from the House that also deal with ethics reform.
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