In 2004, Utah lawmakers accepted more than $144,000 in meals, Jazz basketball tickets and other gifts from lobbyists.

But it's tough to tell who among the 104 lawmakers had the best time. Less than $1 in every $10 in freebies - only $11,719 - can be traced to the beneficiary under current state laws. Lobbyists are required to name gift recipients only when the expense exceeds $50 per person.

Three measures aimed at tightening regulations have already been struck down in this year's session.

Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, ran a bill aimed at dropping the disclosure threshold from $50 to $10. It was defeated in committee.

Sen. Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, introduced a resolution on the floor that would have transferred the onus of reporting gifts from lobbyists to legislators. It was quickly swatted down.

Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake City, tried for the fifth consecutive year to pass a bill banning most lobbyist gifts. It never got out of the Rules Committee for public debate.

The sponsors said their proposals were aimed at bolstering the government's image and providing more transparency in the legislative process.

"Banning gifts removes the view that we have too tight a relationship with the lobbyists," Becker said. "The impression the public has is that we are bought off."

Bell agreed. "People are cynical of government officials in light of all the scandals we've had," he said. "If there's nothing wrong going on, then why do we care who knows it?"

Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, took the most lobbyist favors last year, according to reports filed with the State Elections Office. He said he would support legislation requiring legislators to report gifts because he has "no secret agenda."

"I'm just a poor coal miner who gets tired of eating at McDonald's," he said.

The priciest of Dmitrich's gifts was a $320 courtside ticket to a Feb. 2, 2004, Jazz-San Antonio Spurs basketball game, courtesy of Frank Suitter, who lobbies for the Utah Transit Authority and a bevy of other clients. The next day, Dmitrich and his guest, Rep. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City, cast the decisive votes in delaying an audit of the bus and light-rail agency.

Suitter in the report filed later listed the expenditure as coming from one of his other clients: No! The Coalition Opposed to High-Level Nuclear Waste.

Dmitrich and Goodfellow said lobbyist gifts have no influence on their votes.

"I see nothing wrong with [accepting lobbyist gifts] and would encourage others to participate," said Goodfellow, who was the second most avid collector of lobbyist goodies.

Senate Majority Leader Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City, agreed lobbyists' gifts are harmless. "We are guided by our conscience and no amount of money is going to buy anyone's vote," Knudson said. "Integrity is the issue; it isn't money."

But lobbyists, many of them with issues before the Legislature, are spending lots of money on gifts to public officials for some reason.

The University of Utah, which was the state's top gift-giver for 2004, is seeking state money to boost salaries, fund $48.5 million in earthquake-proofing the Marriott Library and hold tuition hikes to a minimum.

Although the U. spent a lot of money, U. lobbyist Nancy Lyon said it is through information that lobbyists hope to sway lawmakers. "Of course you want to affect the way they vote," she said. "The way you hope to do that is by giving them objective, reliable information that helps make a good policy decision."

Government watchdogs are skeptical of the relationship between lobbyists and legislators.

"The reality is that you are influenced by the company you keep and the information you get," said Anthony Musci, Utah chairman of Common Cause. "[Lobbyists] are naturally going to have stronger influence." It's not just their presence that influences legislation, it's that other voices are excluded, he said.

Claire Geddes, retired director of Utah Legislative Watch, agreed. "I don't think legislators are bad people, I just think they get most of their information from one side," she said. "Just ask any woman whose husband has bought them a nice dinner, and they'll tell you it certainly does make a difference. I think that's exactly how they're lobbying."