But Bramble, who accepted a $920 trip to Atlanta to meet with Delta Air Lines officials - a trip that coincided with his son's wedding in that city - is contesting the results. He wants his constituents to know he made a follow-up visit with Delta execs at his own expense. And those wedding presents the lobbyists gave his son? He says they shouldn't count; didn't even have to be reported.
If you give Bramble the benefit of the doubt and deduct those items from the haul, it's still been a very good year for the best Legislature that lobbyists can buy. Utah lawmakers raked in more than $135,000 worth of free gifts, meals, tickets and travel from lobbyists in the first three months of 2008, and are on pace to eclipse last year's mark of $279,000 in handouts.
But, could we be witnessing the last dash to the trough? Could the Legislature's collective conscience be catching up with the gang that can't seem to say "no"?
When the Legislature's Government Operations Interim Committee meets in coming month, ethics, including lobbyist gift-giving, will be on the agenda. And the public will be on lawmakers' minds.
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.
The committee should recommend a complete ban on gifts of any sort to lawmakers and their families. Holding a public office entitles you to a salary, a per diem and the right to represent the people who elected you, nothing more.
It should recommend campaign finance reform, including a ban on corporate donations, strict limits on individual contributions, and an end to the shameful practice of allowing lawmakers to keep what's left of their funds when they resign, retire or lose an election.
And it should recommend formation of an independent ethics commission to investigate conflicts of interest and other cases of questionable conduct involving lawmakers, instead of leaving lawmakers to police themselves.
That would be the ethical thing to do.
Utah lawmakers raked in more than $135,000 worth of free gifts, meals, tickets and travel from lobbyists in the first three months of 2008, and are on pace to eclipse last year's handouts.
