And the punishment isn't really a punishment. Offenders receive a friendly reminder.

Simply put, the law isn't being rigorously enforced. And the prescribed penalty - a fine of up to $1,000 - isn't being applied. And that has to change.

You deserve to know when corporations invest in politicians, so you can determine if the money influences your elected officials' actions. It's important - especially in Utah, where there are no limits on the amounts that corporations can donate - that you can go to the lieutenant governor's office Web site and type in the name of a corporation and see how much it is contributing and to whom.

Corporations routinely curry favor with politicians by making campaign contributions. It's a hedge against legislation and regulations they consider bad for their businesses. It's insurance that politicians will do their bidding. And it's a way to keep pro-business and pro-industry lawmakers in office.

And, just as routinely, corporations neglect to file the required disclosure forms. In fact, in Utah it's an epidemic. Corporations even ignore the law when donating to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, the guy who's supposed to enforce it. The guy who's running for a third term in November.

Last year, Shurtleff received campaign contributions totaling more than $140,000 from more than a dozen corporations that failed to file. By all rights, he should be sending those companies a thank-you card with a citation inside. But it's not happening.

Instead of compliance, we get excuses. Some corporations and their lobbyists have complained that the state does a poor job informing corporations of the reporting requirements, but ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

Instead of enforcement, we get lame excuses. "We only have so many eyes. We can only look so hard," says Joe Demma, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, the so-called guardian of Utah's election laws.

And instead of punishment, we get less than a slap on the wrist. When Shurtleff's office is informed that a corporation has failed to file, it contacts the company to inquire about the paperwork instead of filing charges, according to Thom Roberts, the assistant attorney general in charge of corporate reminders.

Utah voters deserve better. State officials need to treat the law like a law, not a suggestion. There need to be enforcement and punishment if there's ever going to be compliance.