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Ethics and Transparency
We grow tired of hearing from
indignant lawmakers who say they don't need rules in order
to be ethical. The fact is even the most ethical among them
are tarred by a system that requires little accountability
and allows people to legally enrich themselves off their
contributors.
--Deseret
News Editorial Board
Elected office should be about public service, not
private gain.
The Utah Legislature needs a strong code of ethics to
promote good policy and allow voters to hold their
representatives accountable.
I will fight for:
- A ban on lobbyists’ gifts to lawmakers.
- Restrictions on the use of campaign funds—no more
pocketing the cash!
- Penalties for lobbyists, corporations, and PACs that
fail to disclose campaign donations as required by law.
- An independent ethics commission to investigate
problems, ending the practice of legislators
investigating themselves.
- A “cooling off” period, preventing legislators from
becoming lobbyists within a year of leaving office.
Ethical Governance
Citizens expect their representatives in government to
perform their responsibilities in an ethical manner.
The perception that elected officials are unduly influenced
by lobbyists is damaging to the officials themselves, as
well as to the government in general. Even the
lobbyists are harmed if they are seen to be buying
influence. To prevent both real and perceived problems
in this area, I would support a ban on gifts to elected
officials, similar to the
bill proposed in the 2006 general session. This
bill was very popular in the House of Representatives and
was
opposed by only six members—including my opponent,
Representative Greg Hughes.
To create more distance between
lawmakers and lobbyists, I would also support a proposal to
ban elected officials from becoming lobbyists within one
year of leaving office. Many states have implemented
such laws, and Utah would benefit from
following their examples. Additionally, anyone
elected to the legislature should give up his or her
position as a lobbyist. This kind of conflict of
interest exists in our current legislature and should be
eliminated.
Openness and Transparency in Government
President Abraham Lincoln called our representative
democracy a government “of the people, by the people, and
for the people.” The business of government is the
people’s business, and it should be conducted in an open,
transparent manner.
To preserve transparency and protect the legislative
process, I oppose omnibus bills like SB2 from the 2008
General Session.
This bill rolled very popular measures that had already
passed on their own in with bills that had actually failed
in committee or on the floor.
Tangential education projects were combined with the
required education appropriation, making it difficult to
identify and amend out unpopular expenditures.
Since the bill came up at the end of the session, it
was heard and passed without proper public input.
We should end this practice.
Links
Now is
the time to engage candidates in a discussion of this
important issue - to find out where they stand. And as they
make promises to win your vote, get them to commit to
supporting legislation that would stop the practice of their
being showered with gifts from influence-seeking lobbyists.
Politicians and Gifts
(KSL Editorial, April 30, 2008)
Until Utah voters make ethics
an Election Day issue, however, real changes aren't likely
to happen.
Ethics Reform Badly Needed
(Deseret
News Editorial, April 14, 2008)
Opinion polls indicate that
nearly two-thirds of the public can no longer stomach a
Legislature that eats, drinks and makes merry on the
lobbyist dime, then too often does the bidding of the
companies and organizations that underwrite these affairs.
And it’s safe to say the majority is sickened by a
Legislature that cashes campaign contribution checks, from
donors expecting big dividends.
And a Legislature that repeatedly fails to
investigate conflicts of interest by its members, then
forces them to vote even when they admit a conflict exists.
Ethics
Reform:
Lawmakers Need to Come Clean
(Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial, April 26, 2008)
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