Ethics Reform
Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck
District 24, Salt Lake City
In our continued effort to move forward towards strident systemic ethics reform, the House Ethics Committee will be meeting this week to discuss the framework within which this change can take place. Given the public outcry for something to be done on this issue we will continue to vet bills that make substantive change in our four ethics priority areas during this year’s general session. We passed two bills in our first meeting last week. The first will require legislators to honor a one-year “cooling off” period before becoming paid contract lobbyists. The second bill requires all campaign contributions to be reported to the Lieutenant Governor’s office within five days of receipt.
However, developing an operational framework is something that may take more time as we attempt to come up with processes for vetting ethics complaints, coordinating ethics training and other more foundational issues. We want to do this right, relying on the old adage of “measuring twice, cutting once. “ The bipartisan make-up of the committee, we hope, will provide for opportunities for lively discussion during the interim as we review the array of options we have before us to be more transparent and work in the best interest of the public. As usual, we are open to constructive input on the process and hope to see you at future meetings.
