Legislative Ethics

No state in the country has weaker laws on legislative ethics than Utah. Kraig will support measures banning lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators and prohibiting state officials from spending campaign funds for their personal use. To set an example on this issue, Kraig is refusing to accept any money from lobbyists or special interest groups and is sending their checks back uncashed.

Contributions and Gifts to Legislators

Two recurring topics of discussion during each annual session of the Utah Legislature are (l) campaign contributions and expenditures; and (2) gifts made to legislators by lobbyists.

A wide variety of citizens, scholars, newspapers, and research foundations have called for reform of Utah lawmakers' financial practices. In many studies, Utah consistently ranks at or near the bottom of states in the country for its regulation of political contributions. A fundamental concern with Utah's campaign finance laws is that legislators are currently allowed to spend money they receive as campaign contributions on anything they want to, even personal expenses unrelated to politics or campaigning.

Consequently, Utah senators and representatives have often spent the money on such items as clothing, digital cameras, or car repairs. Another popular expenditure is travel costs, not only for the lawmaker, but also for his or her family members. Some legislators have even used the funds to pay themselves or their spouse an additional salary.

Utah law currently does not prohibit legislators from using donations in these ways, or in any other ways. The law is simply silent as to use of the funds. In contrast, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer,

and state auditor are restricted by statute to using campaign donations only for political purposes.

A second area of concern is gifts to lawmakers by lobbyists, interest groups and corporations. The persistent worry is that these perks affect how legislators vote on bills that are important to the giver of the gifts. Utah's only significant requirement on this subject is that gifts valued at over $50 must be reported in public financial disclosures filed by the giving organization. Legislators themselves do not have to file any reports of gifts received.

Popular gifts given to Utah lawmakers during recent legislative sessions include Utah Jazz tickets, golf green fees, admission to concerts and the theater, and frequent meals at expensive restaurants. Although campaign contributions cannot be made to legislators during each year's 45-day legislative session, gifts to legislators can be made at any time, and the vast majority are made during the session.

My Stance on This Issue:

I am concerned to learn that 98 percent of all campaign donations to legislators are made by lobbyists, interest groups and corporations, and that virtually 100 percent of all gifts to legislators come from these types of groups.

As a member of the Utah House of Representatives, I will support passage of: (1) a requirement that campaign donations be used only for direct political purposes; and (2) a ban on gifts given to individual lawmakers.

I do not accept campaign funds or gifts from lobbyists, special interest groups, or corporations that lobby the Legislature. I agree with a recent Deseret News editorial: "Until Utah voters make ethics an Election Day issue, real changes aren't likely to happen."