Tribune Editorial: Initiative Process Best Way to Enact Ethics Reform
Time and again, opinion polls have shown that a majority of Utahns favor far-reaching legislative ethics reforms. But time and again, lawmakers have failed to deliver all but cosmetic changes.
That disconnect, and the resulting disenchantment with democracy, is best reflected in the state’s abysmal voting rates, one of the signs that citizens are increasingly disengaged. Kirk Jowers, acting chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Strengthening Utah’s Democracy, said Utahns are “less likely to cast a ballot than citizens in 47 other states.”
Utahns are less likely to cast a ballot than citizens in 47 other states. That’s because Mormons vote as a monolithic block. The church has successfully turned the Mormons into robots at the ballot box and driven the rest of the citizenry into apathy.
It became so clearly apparent when, after all these years of resistance, the church leaders changed their singular mind and decided that gays have finally earned equal protection under the law and came out publicly in support of non-discrimination laws in Salt Lake City. The previously controversial issue suddenly got a majority vote.
And in Salt Lake County, where a similar proposed ordinance was likely not to pass, it also got a unanimous vote. Suddenly the issue was over. The legislators changed their minds almost in sync with the change of policy of the church.
That my friends, is one of many clear examples of the LDS Church’s influence on the Utah ballot and the resulting apathy at the polls.
At least we can be grateful that the Quorum can, in unusual circumstances, change its mind.
The 19-member commission, a mix of elected and community leaders, was formed to increase citizen participation and restore faith in government by recommending changes to state lobbying regulations, and election and campaign finance statutes. And it should be commended for its yearlong effort and common-sense proposals released last week.
But the commission’s recommendations and findings are not binding. Only the Legislature, or the people via ballot initiatives, can enact laws. And the commission did not address all areas of concern. Under pressure from legislative leaders, former Gov. Jon Huntsman removed legislative redistricting laws and ethics laws from the commission’s purview.
Topping the commission’s wish list is the creation of an Elections, Lobbying and Campaign Finance Enforcement Commission to ensure compliance with state laws, a sound idea. The governor’s commission also recommends that the state cap campaign contributions, but the proposed donation limits are too high to curb the influence of major contributors on the political process and remove the appearance of corruption.
Other common-sense proposals would strengthen campaign finance reporting requirements, streamline voter registration, remove a loophole that allows lawmakers to lobby the Legislature immediately after leaving office, and make it easier for overseas military personnel to vote.
Those are good ideas, but they hardly qualify as far-reaching reform that will restore trust in government. Better bets for Beehive State voters are a pair of proposed ballot initiatives. One would establish an independent redistricting commission to advise state lawmakers on redrawing legislative districts after each census. The second would force substantive ethics reform, including a gift ban, reasonable limits on campaign contributions, a strict code of ethics for lawmakers and an independent ethics commission to enforce it.
Even if state lawmakers embrace the commission’s recommendations and implement the suggested reforms, citizens would be better served by the ballot initiatives.