The Salt Lake City mayor has a list of proposals he wants lawmakers to pursue come January. Many of the issues closely mirror the "freedoms" he laid out in July, when he criticized legislators and called on them to change laws he says hinder economic development and trample on personal freedoms.

Anderson's legislative agenda includes toughening gun laws, expanding sex education in schools, prohibiting smoking in bars, loosening liquor laws, and repealing the ban on gay and unmarried heterosexual adoption. He also wants increased safety for bicyclists, hate-crimes legislation and permission to use PhotoCop to fine speeders.

While others have advocated similar measures, the mayor would be one of the highest-profile officeholders to rally for the changes - not that he is expected to find much support.

In fact, Anderson probably won't have the backing of the City Council for all of his items. The council will discuss them Tuesday. Without council support, the outside lobbyist the city plans to hire cannot push for them.

Anderson, whose Democratic politics lean far left of the Republican-dominated Legislature, acknowledged Thursday that some of his proposals, including adoption by unmarried couples, won't happen soon, but he eventually expects success.

"If you don't raise the issue, you'll never see any progress," he said.

Upon hearing the requests, Rep. Greg Curtis, a Sandy Republican running for House speaker, said: "Sounds like Rocky Anderson should have run for the Legislature. . . . I don't think he's going to be successful on all of those."

While some lawmakers still hold a grudge against Anderson because he joined a lawsuit against the Legacy Highway, Curtis said opposition will come because lawmakers are more conservative.

"It wouldn't matter if Mayor Anderson was not leading the charge," Curtis said.

Indeed, the Legislature already has dispatched with many of the issues Anderson now wants revisited.

Lawmakers have refused to pass a meaningful hate-crimes law since 1991. They declined in 1998 to pass a bill allowing PhotoCop. They banned adoption by unmarried couples in 2000. They barred living-wage contracts in 2001.

In 2002, legislators refused to ban smoking in bars. But supporters plan to bring it up again in 2005.

For now, Anderson is soft-pedaling the alcohol issue. He opposes private-club memberships, the 1-ounce pour limits, prohibition against happy hours and the rule stopping hard-alcohol pours at midnight because he says they are inhospitable. But he's seeking only to allow liquor establishments to open near schools if those schools agree.

Such a rule would have allowed the Salt Lake Arts Academy, a middle school, to open downtown near several private clubs.

"There's a feeling if we put this in legislators' faces, this might set us back," Anderson said. "I refuse, over the long haul, to let up on this."

City Councilman Carlton Christensen suggested the mayor should limit the agenda to "municipal-oriented" laws, possibly including hate crimes, bike safety and living wage and then seek support from other government leaders.

"His political pull is very limited - even on the Democratic side," Christensen said. "The Democrats up there are pretty dependent on the Republicans. For them to be Rocky's voice leaves them dead on arrival."

Anderson, who is seeking support for some items from the Salt Lake County Council of Governments, maintains it is appropriate for a mayor to get involved in a range of issues. "Salt Lakers feel there is a lot of progress that needs to be made with our state Legislature."

And as for some council members' complaints that Anderson shouldn't criticize the lawmakers if he expects to sway them, the mayor said: "Some of these council members have completely lost any notion of what leadership is all about. I frankly wish our City Council would look out for the interests of our city and agitate a bit for legislative reforms."

hmay@sltrib.com

Some of Anderson's legislative agenda

l Repeal the state law prohibiting cities from requiring contractors to pay a living wage.

l Ban smoking at private clubs and taverns and at gatherings of more than 50 people.

l Create a task force to study and make recommendations on creating universal health care in Utah.

l Reverse the "abstinence-only" policy in sex education.

l Repeal the ban on adoption by unmarried couples.

l Enact more gun control, including tougher penalties for crimes committed with a firearm, allowing cities to adopt their own gun rules.

l Enact hate-crimes legislation.

l Allow cities to use PhotoCop to enforce red-light, speeding violations.

l Require vehicles to stay at least 3 feet away when passing bicyclists.

l Increase the tax for tire recycling to relocate a tire-recycling plant on the city's west side.