But when they do, cash will fall in smaller bunches and less often if the County Council considers the latest campaign-finance rules digestible.

Proposed last month, the council may vote today to eliminate an 8-month-old prohibition on cash from county contractors. At the same time, individual donations would be sliced from $5,000 to $2,000. And everyone from the mayor to assessor would be limited to three handouts from any one individual - candidates currently get up to eight - per election cycle.

What's more, the plan calls for a $10,000 cap on in-kind money from political parties, which reform-architect and Councilwoman Jenny Wilson calls revolutionary.

"This is a pretty radical change," Wilson says. "It has stricter rules and tighter limits. But it seems reasonable."

The latest reform language guts a key tenet of former-acting Mayor Alan Dayton's ethics package - the ban on contractor cash. But according to Vice Chairwoman of Common Cause of Utah Cassie Dippo, it is a good compromise.

"These are all positive changes," Dippo says. "If it doesn't do it completely, it goes a long way toward nullifying influence from any particular group."

Under the plan, county residents could give a total of $6,000 to a given candidate. Donations would be divided into three periods: between candidate filing and the convention, convention and primary and primary and general election.

Right now, donors can pony up six times for council-district candidates and eight times for countywide races.

County leaders meanwhile, insist that defining a contractor has proved problematic. They also seem spooked by a similar ban that was deemed unconstitutional in New Jersey.

Wilson worries a poorly defined contractor ban could "arbitrarily" single out one group while still allowing developers, for instance, to donate.

Mayor Peter Corroon concedes the public would feel more comfortable if contractors couldn't give money, but says he can live with the council's compromise.

"I just hope whatever finally gets passed reduces influence from outside parties and allows for full disclosure," he says.

Along those lines, the proposed plan would increase by four days the final period candidates must tally their donor lists before primary and general elections.

But due to both privacy and accuracy concerns, candidates, if the package passes, no longer would be required to submit their bank statements.

Other proposed reforms include a recusal requirement if a conflict of interest exists and a one-year prohibition for former employees to lobby the county.

On Monday both Dippo and Auditor Sean Thomas - he criticized the "loophole" last month - lauded the $10,000 limit for political parties, which Wilson calls "cutting edge."

Thomas says the ceiling will help prevent parties from becoming a conduit for campaign funding beyond an individual-donor cash cap.

djensen@sltrib.com

The new campaign finance

rules would:

l Allow contributions from county contractors, but lower the cap per donor to $2,000.

l Limit to three the number of individual donations per election

cycle.

l Cap in-kind contributions from political parties at $10,000.

l Require campaign-disclosure reports for primary and general elections to list four additional days of donations.