By Dee Rowland
The revelation of unlawful acts by the majority leaders of both the House and the Senate bookended the 2010 session of the Utah State Legislature and were a disgusting distraction from official legislative actions. Ironically, it was a year when several ethics bills finally saw the light of day.
Lobbyists must now report gifts worth $10 or more but with multiple large exceptions.
More potential disclosure of financial conflicts of interest are now required although not those of close family members.
Some personal uses of leftover campaign funds were prohibited.
The most glaring omission is any limitation on campaign contributions from corporations, individuals, or Political Action Committees. Utah is now one of only four states that have no limits.
The fear of legislators is most prominent in the passage of SB275, which allows petition signers to remove their names from petitions a full month after signature collection closes, thus thwarting the effort to put citizen initiatives on the ballot. Unlike most bills which become effective 60 days after the Session closes, SB275 has an immediate effective date presumably aimed to nullify the Ethics in Government and Fair Boundaries Citizen Initiatives.
It was frustrating to witness the time spent on so-called "message" bills that challenge federal authority and passed in spite of the legislature's own staff predicting they will be found unconstitutional.
The only tax enacted was the dollar-a-pack increase on cigarettes. Witnesses at a House Tax Committee hearing who supported a percentage increase on those making over $250,000 a year were treated with incredible rudeness by one legislator. I can only describe it as bullying. The budget was balanced with a creative blend of Rainy Day funds, bonding, shifting some road money funds to building projects and cuts to programs. Human Service programs fared better than expected but public education will need to accommodate 11,000 new students with no increase in funding. Higher education took cuts in spite of record high enrollments in this recessionary time.
Some laws are still awaiting action by the governor, who has until March 31 to sign, veto or allow the bill to be enacted without his signature. An example of such a bill is Substitute SB251, which requires employers with more than 15 employees to run their new hires through the federal E-Verify system. Because that system has a high rate of errors, many businesses feel that it will burden them with an ineffective process. The Latin American Chamber of Commerce is leading the effort to have the bill vetoed. Thankfully, other anti-immigrant bills did not survive.
Political party caucuses were held last week and delegates to party conventions selected. My fervent hope is that Catholics will sign the non-partisan Ethics in Government and Fair Boundaries initiatives so that they can be voted on next November and the 2011 Utah Legislature can more closely represent the views of Utah citizens.
Dee Rowland is the government liaison for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. She can be reached at dee.rowland@dioslc.org
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