By unanimous vote Tuesday, the County Council decided to ban officials, administrators and managers from lobbying the county for one year if they voluntarily leave their position.

A last-minute change will exempt licensed professionals, such as deputies for the District Attorney and appraisers, which the plan's author said never was the intent of the new rule.

"If you're a lawyer, you can keep being a lawyer. If you're a surveyor, you can keep surveying," said Councilman Mark Crockett. "It's a good clarification."

The prohibition, council members agree, should eliminate any deal-making at taxpayer expense by high-level county employees that bolt for the private sector.

But District Attorney David Yocom questioned whether that is a real concern.

"We're swatting at flies that don't really exist here," he scolded the council.

"Like weapons of mass destruction," added Gavin Anderson, a deputy attorney.

Councilman Randy Horiuchi also piled on, characterizing Crockett's ethics addition as "the day after the scandal express."

Still, Crockett notes his original plan was not to make any exemptions. That was stripped during previous debates with the council.

The lobbying ban completes a triumvirate of ethics reforms - following a spate of county-government scandals over the past year - that include a conflict-of-interest provision and campaign-finance reform, which puts a cap on individual campaign donations.

Besides outlawing the lobbying, a penalty under new rule would prohibit the private organization that hired the lobbyist from contracting with the county for one year.

"While it may not be perfect, it seems to me to be reasonable," Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said about the stricter standard.

djensen@sltrib.com