U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell on Wednesday rejected legislation state lawmakers adopted in an effort to cut off political fund payroll deductions to the Utah Education Association and the Utah Public Employees Association. Campbell said the law is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.

"Today's ruling shows that the First Amendment is alive and well," said Vik Arnold, UEA government relations and political action director.

But House Speaker Greg Curtis wants to appeal the case, which already has cost the state over $1 million. He called Campbell's ruling "judicial activism."

"We don't believe the government should be in the business of collecting political action money," Curtis said.

In 2001, Utah lawmakers approved the Voluntary Contribution Act, sponsored by former Murray Rep. Chad Bennion, on a wave of anti-union sentiment. Officially, the legislation was defended as a legitimate effort to protect government from the cost and hassle of setting aside money from public employees' paychecks that would be used for political purposes.

But a partisan bent to the vote and behind-the-scenes arm-twisting suggested a more political motive. Legislative attorneys gave the bill a 60 percent chance of being upheld in court. And Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff stood on the floor of the House and said he had a "gut feeling" the legislation was unconstitutional. But a few days later, after private discussions with legislative leaders, Shurtleff said the law would be "100 percent defensible." Despite his change of mind, lawmakers pressured the attorney general to hire a private law firm to defend the law.

State attorneys argued payroll systems are state property, and therefore, not subject to the "strict scrutiny" required in free speech cases. They claimed the state should not be required to spend taxpayer resources collecting funds for political purposes. Allowing teachers and public employees to deduct funds for union political action committees actually would give the labor organizations "preferential" treatment. And cutting off payroll deductions eliminated "political pressures" on public employees and employers.

Campbell rejected virtually all of the state's arguments. She noted the state "incurs no expense" as a result of deducting the political contributions, could provide no evidence of creating a special status for unions and could not show an entanglement with private political activities.

The law has devastated both government worker unions. In 2001, 95 percent of UEA's 18,000 members contributed nearly $640,000 to the union's political action committee through payroll deductions. When an injunction lapsed and the law took effect, the number of contributors was cut in half. And last year, that fund balance totalled less than $300,000.

At the time the law was debated, legislators denied any deliberate attempt to cut into public employee union fundraising. But lawmakers' voting patterns followed almost directly UEA's political contributions. Democratic legislative candidates in the 1998 and 2000 elections were more than four times as likely as Republicans to get donations from the unions. Republican legislative leaders backed the bill and conservative lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for it.

"It hurt," said Arnold. "It didn't silence us."

Instead of signing up for payroll deductions, UEA members started making contributions directly or using electronic fund transfers. "We've been making steady headway," Arnold said. "But we look forward to having the payroll deduction option available for our members once again."

The unions originally sued in state court. In 2003, lawmakers amended parts of the original law and UPEA settled. But five labor organizations and an association of unions filed another suit in federal court three years ago.

Curtis said legislative leaders will meet to decide whether to continue the legal battle.

"In this day and age, there are so many ways to make donations," Curtis said. "I just have a hard time understanding why government should do it."

"We don't believe the government should be in the business of collecting political action money."

Law hampered

some unions

Utah Education Association

Political Action Committee's

cash on hand:

2001 $636,738

2002 $403,025

2003 $502,501

2004 $273,930

2005 $295,556