This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

President Rutherford B. Hayes didn't utter much that was memorable, but in his inaugural address of 1877, he made a statement that is applicable to the flap over HB477, the bill limiting access to public records through the Government Records Access and Management Act, and Rep. Kraig Powell's regret over his affirmative vote: "He serves his party best who serves the country best."

Hayes' fellow Republicans were bitter because he refused to give special favors to party politicians, but history labels Hayes as sincere and honest if not necessarily notable.

My experience during 16 years as a Republican in the Utah House of Representatives validates Rep. Powell's anxiety. His bills and political goals could have been thwarted had he originally voted against HB477. I will share a few of my own experiences, but other legislators also have stories about inappropriate political consequences.

There are many ways to kill a bill, and I'm familiar with them. On occasion I would strongly disagree with the positions of legislative leaders, and I paid a political price.

In 2007, I could not get two bills out of the House Rules Committee: a bill on restitution for criminal victims and a bill on camcorder piracy of media. Neither bill was controversial and both were supported by professional groups. I was told by a member of Rules that the bills were dead because I was the sponsor. Although I was never told why I was an objectionable sponsor, that was the year of school vouchers, and I was adamantly opposed to vouchers.

The bills were important to those who had asked me to carry them, so after several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue with the Rules chair and the House speaker, I transferred the bills to another sponsor. The bills then zipped through the Legislature without a single dissenting vote. I dared not complain to the press, or the consequences could easily have been more severe.

For the Constitutional Revision Commission, I was sponsoring an amendment to clarify the succession of the lieutenant governor to become governor. That resolution was hijacked by another legislator who had much more power. It passed in the Legislature, was approved by the public, and is now law.

Hijacking of bills, while not common, is not as rare as the story of transferring bills to another sponsor, and then watching as the bills sail through at high speed simply because of a sponsor name change.

In recent years my bills were often unnecessarily delayed to send a not-so-subtle message that I should be more cooperative. In 2009, I carried a bill for prosecutors to alter the penalties when minors distribute inappropriate materials, nowadays referred to as "sexting." The prosecutors and I watched in dismay and then worked hard as this bill stalled for five weeks, and we all knew the reason — my sponsorship. With a lot of good intervention from those who supported this bill, it passed just prior to legislative adjournment.

Even though I had significant seniority, I commonly was denied committees or assignments I had requested.

Rep. Powell's apprehension that his bills may have been held hostage if he did not vote for HB477 was justified. Legislators, without being explicitly told, know there are occasional steep costs for not being a political party team player. I admire Rep. Powell's honesty in exposing his legislative vulnerability.

There were additional ill-advised legislative exploitations in 2011. SB44 sponsored by Sen. Margaret Dayton severely limits the ability of two effective legislative advisory committees to meet: the Constitutional Revision Commission and the Tax Review Commission. Sen. Curtis Bramble's SB165 further erodes the constitutionally protected right to public initiatives. Both bills are dangerous and deserve vetoes and should never have passed.

Rep. Powell's proposal to require bills to have at least a 72-hour cooling-off period would help avoid another HB477 rush job. However, an even more effective cure would be to restore balance in Utah government. Yes, I mean electing both Democrats and Republicans.

The founding framers wanted legislation to be difficult. They wanted vigorous debate, and they wanted compromise. Utah no longer has some of these critical checks and balances, and HB477 is Exhibit A. Other exhibits are available. One-party dominance can too easily ignore the public interest.

Utah's political party delegate system also exacerbates the problem. Jane Citizen frequently does not get to choose among all candidates. In many legislative districts, this decision is made by a small group of party delegates. How many of you got to vote for or against Sen. Bob Bennett in 2010 or Gov. Olene Walker in 2004? Only the delegates!

This makes our elected representatives far less responsive to the general public and far too responsive to their political party and party delegates.

President Hayes got it exactly right. Utah needs a system where elected officials serve us, and not their political parties.

Sheryl Allen, of Bountiful, is a former member of the Utah House and was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010.