A law creating a new reporting deadline for campaign contributions may prove toothless as Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert's Office says it will not enforce one of its provisions.

Under HB346, candidates must report contributions within 30 days of receiving them to help eliminate situations where candidates misreport their campaign finances.

But it's a law the Lieutenant Governor's Office says can't be enforced because the only way staff would know if a candidate received money would be if it were reported, said Joe Demma, Herbert's chief of staff.

“We're just in the business of accepting the reports versus enforcing this part of the law,” he said.

However, in the case where a candidate reported a contribution after the 30-day deadline, Demma said his office still wouldn't enforce a penalty.

However, state law firmly puts the onus on Herbert's office to make sure that all candidates are filing reports that conform with the law and to report any candidates in violation to the Attorney General's Office. Candidates who break the law could be charged with a class B misdemeanor.

But Demma doesn't think it would ever get to the point of a criminal charge. “I think simply filing an amended report would work.”

However, that report could come well after an election ends.

That's not good enough for Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, who cosponsored the bill.

“To play games by not properly reporting contributions and then filing an amended report and say 'No harm, no foul'... that was not our intention,” Bell said.

When a candidate misreports campaign finances, it can impact a race. In Utah, supporters of the state's lax campaign finance laws often argue the laws are lenient because everything is disclosed for voters to see, said Kirk Jowers, a campaign finance attorney.

However, that only works if candidates accurately report contributions.

“If voters cannot get timely contributor information, it eliminates their ability to fairly see influence on that legislator that may or may not make a difference to them,” said Jowers, who also is the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

Rep. Brad Dee recognizes that potential influence, and when he originally drafted the bill, it had a five-day deadline for reporting contributions. However, the Senate amended it to 30, and Dee accepted it.

“I understand from the Lt. Governor's Office's perspective that they don't have the manpower to police this,” he said. “But I'd be surprised to see candidates not comply because it's simple and entirely possible.”

Rep. John Dougall disagrees with Herbert's office choosing which laws to enforce.

“I'm concerned when the executive branch says, 'We're not going to do that because we don't want to.' ”

smcfarland@sltrib.com