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Seventeen Utah lawmakers are scheduling trips to Hawaii later this month to attend a conference for Western legislators, and taxpayers are picking up at least part of the bill.

Although much of the Council of State Governments-West Conference will be spent in forums on topics such as health care policy, state budgeting and energy development, the schedule also has time for sightseeing and socializing.

On two of the four days, meetings wrap up at lunchtime so lawmakers can tour the Pearl Harbor memorial and downtown Honolulu. There are receptions and hospitality suites at the hotel on the Waikiki beach, a luau and Polynesian revue on the closing night, and visits to the fish market during the day.

An exact tally of the cost isn't available, but registration for the event costs $350, hotel rooms are going for $160 a night, and flights to Hawaii are currently going for between about $600 to $950 — meaning the event could cost as much as $2,000 per person.

Some of the six senators and 11 House members embarking on the trip may pay the bill out of their campaign funds, and House policy limits the expenses for those 11 members to $1,500 per member.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is currently in Hawaii for the Conference of Western Attorneys General meeting. His travel isn't directly paid by taxpayers. Instead, the conference pays the expenses, although the state pays $10,000 a year in dues to the organization.

Senate President Michael Waddoups and House Speaker Becky Lockhart, who are both on the CSG-West executive committee, will be attending the legislators' conference in Hawaii and will get oceanside rooms by virtue of their position on the executive committee.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who went to the CSG-West conference last year in Idaho, is going this year and says he'll go next year when the conference will presumably be in Wyoming. He also attends similar meetings hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Legislative Exchange Council, often paying for them out of his campaign account or his own pocket.

He said the state not only benefits when legislators learn from and share with their colleagues, but by participating, the state gets to host the conferences as well.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said he is flying out early and taking his wife and his golf clubs — on his own dime — but he said he won't be golfing during the conference.

"I'm excited. I've never been to Hawaii," said Jenkins. He said he understands that taxpayers might not like the idea of sending legislators to Hawaii, but he says the conference is worthwhile.

"I absolutely understand that, but it all comes down to: Do you want to get training and hone your skills?" he said. "A couple times a year it kind of comes with the job, and if you're not willing to do it and be part of it, it hurts you."

House Majority Leader Brad Dee, R-Ogden, said the state pays just $1,500 a year for any travel he does.

"The only thing they're paying for basically are registrations. They're not paying for travel, they're not paying for my room," he said. For the Hawaii event, he said he would pay for the trip from his campaign account and pay his wife's expenses out of his pocket.

"Is it worth it for the state to have us attend with our national colleagues?" he asked. "Most definitely."

Other senators who plan to make the trip are: Sens. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan; Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City; and Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights.

The House members who expect to attend are: Assistant Majority Whip Rhonda Menlove, R-Garland; Reps. Roger Barrus, R-Centerville; Jim Bird, R-West Jordan; David Clark, R-Santa Clara; James Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville; Becky Edwards, R-Bountiful; Brad Last, R-St. George; Mike Noel, R-Kanab; and Neal Hendrickson, D-West Valley City.

Under the House rules, taxpayers provide lawmakers — except for freshmen — with a $1,500 travel allowance. The Senate will cover the cost of one trip a year and does not have the $1,500 cap.

The Legislature's out-of-state travel budget has declined in recent years. In the 2009 fiscal year, legislators spent about $120,000. The next budget year, the amount was about $104,000. Through mid-June of this year — just a few weeks before the end of the fiscal year — lawmakers had spent $48,000.