Reports filed Monday with the Lieutenant Governor Monday show growing grass-roots support for two citizen-led initiatives that aim to reform how state lawmakers conduct their business.

While most state legislators oppose these efforts, neither side has attracted the millions of dollars of support -- or opposition -- that characterized the fierce voucher referendum battle of 2007.

A third ethics initiative, sponsored by The Peoples Right, LLC, surfaced in early January and, to date, has no money in the bank.

Each petition drive faces an April 15 deadline to amass 95,000 valid voter signatures around the state to earn a spot on the November ballot.

"We're anticipating more donations," said Dixie Huefner, communications director for Utahns for Ethical Government, which boasts the most cash on hand. "We're much better organized than we were a few months ago, and we're pushing hard now -- everything is possible."

The 21-page measure would rein in Utah's lawmakers by imposing campaign contribution caps, banning gifts and establishing an independent advisory commission to review and investigate complaints of improper behavior.

The Fair Boundaries initiative aims to install an independent advisory commission that would redraw boundaries for Utah's legislative and congressional seats after the 2010 Census.

So far, Fair Boundaries has taken in close to $50,000 -- and spent all but $1,272 of it. But the majority of the amount reported raised -- $33,226 -- was in-kind contributions, much of it based on volunteer hours devoted by staff members.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult," Fair Boundaries Field Director Glenn Wright said of the far-flung effort that necessitates signatures from 26 of the state's 29 Senate districts.

"But the upside of it is that it's a relatively easy sell," Wright said. "There's a lot of discontent out there with the arrogance of the Legislature."

The Peoples Right, LLC, -- comprised of three Constitution Party members -- held its seven requisite public hearings last week to unveil "anti-corruption" and "anti-bribery" initiatives.

The first would prohibit personal use of campaign funds for all candidates and public office-holders, while the second would cap individual campaign contributions at $1,000 per year and would ban corporate and union donations.

The $1,000-cap would also apply to political parties and political action and issue committees -- and each violation of the law would bring a class C misdemeanor.

"Only the people have the power to change the government," Steve Maxfield Jr. said during last Friday's Cottonwood Heights presentation. "That's why we started these initiatives."

Such caps would weed out wealthy special interests and force politicians to rely on broad-based public support instead, Maxfield said.

The group expects to start circulating petitions and have a working Web site early next week, said Wayne Crawford of The Peoples Right.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com