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LEGISLATOR CONFLICT OF
INTEREST COMMENTS

To: (Legislator(s) you select)

From: (Your Name and Address and Email automatically inserted here)

Dear Legislator:
Type Personal Message Here

I SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING:

As a Utah citizen and a voter I think that legislators who have a SERIOUS conflict of interest should not sponsor, discuss, nor vote on bills with which they have the conflict.

I am aware that our legislature is a part-time legislature and as such there may be instances where it would be impractical for legislators to recuse themselves from voting (i.e dentist not voting on medical issues, teacher not voting on educational issues). In these cases simply declaring the conflict, as required by state law, is appropriate.

What concerns me is when legislators who are appointed to and sit on boards of organizations that lobby the legislature do not recuse themselves.

These legislators are appointed to these boards after they are elected to office and in most cases vote in favor of the organizations they serve. (Cases in point are Representatives James Dunnigan & Stephen Clark all of whom were appointed to IHC boards during their legislative tenures and all of whom consistently vote, on influential committees, in favor of IHC).

One must ask the questions, would they have been appointed to these boards if they were not legislators? Is the reason for their appointments to influence voting?

This is an egregious abuse of the existing conflict of interest statute. I would hope that a new statute would be enacted that would forbid legislators from sitting on boards of organizations that lobby the legislature.

In addition, legislators whose spouses work for organizations that lobby the legislature should be required, by an amendment to the existing conflict of interest statutes, to recuse themselves from votes relating to those organizations. (Cases in point are: Representativs David Clark and Greg Curtis whose wives are IHC employees. These representatives are in key positions to kill any and all bills unfavorable to IHC).

Utah is the only state in the union that allows legislators who are so conflicted (as described above) to sponsor, argue, and vote upon legislation with which they are so conflicted.

In most other legislative jurisdictions even the appearance of a conflict is enough to require recusal. Why? Because even the appearance of a conflict undermines the public’s trust in the legislative process.

Then, why not here in Utah? Why should we be below the acceptable standard when it comes to ethics?

Please tighten the existing conflict of interest statues to eliminate the “loopholes” I have outlined above.

Sincerely,

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