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Press Release: Down to the Wire
August 3, 2010Utahns for Ethical Government today announces the status of its signature drive for its legislative ethics reform initiative petition.
As of Monday, August 2nd, our statistics indicate that we have or will have obtained by Monday, August 9th the number of qualified voters to meet the required number in the state overall and in 22 of Utah’s Senate districts.
As Kim Burningham, UEG chairman, explained “That means that we have 4 more Senate districts in which we need to make our goal. For the days remaining, we will particularly be concentrating on Utah County—Senate districts 13, 14, 15, and the portion of Senate district 27 that is in Utah County. We have already made our goal in Senate district 16 in Utah County.”
“Our ethics reform petition is important to Utah voters, and we believe that the misinformation being circulated by opponents about the contents of the initiative does a disservice to all Utahns and to our form of democratic government,” added David Irvine, UEG co-counsel.
“Opponents are ignoring the need for real reform of legislative ethics and an enforceable, clear code of conduct,” says Dixie Huefner, UEG Communications Chair. “Much remains to be done that the Legislature has not begun to address.”
“The public deserves the opportunity to vote on our initiative, and we urge all registered voters to help in the final days of our signature drive so that the opportunity can become reality,” concluded Burningham.
OUR VIEW: A ridiculous e-petition rule
July 18, 2010 (Ogden Standard Examiner)It’s tough for Utah political leaders to associate democracy with petitions. We understand—they’ve spent so many years and crafted so many dense rules with the sole purpose of making it as difficult as possible to use the petition process to practice grassroots democracy.
However, the latest “rules” devised by the Utah lieutenant governor’s office to allow—on an interim basis—the use of electronic signatures for petitions to qualify a referendum or initiative for the Utah ballot are more cynical than clumsy.
Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell’s guidelines allow for e-signatures only if there is a witness in the same room, hovering over the e-petition signer’s computer. The guidelines read in part: “The person electronically signing the petition shall have done so in the circulator’s presence.”
That is ridiculous. Online petition gathering is designed for home or office access. It’s farcical to assume that a “circulator” is going to be in the home or office of someone signing a petition. In essence, the new rules make gathering e-petitions the same as going to a supermarket, library, or some other brick and mortar location to gather signatures. No convenience or relief is provided to the petitions gatherers, and that was the whole idea of e-signatures being allowed—to use security and technology advances to make it easier for the public, you and I, to effect change.
We agree with ethics in government advocate Kim Burningham, who stated the obvious regarding the lieutenant governor’s guidelines. He said, “(Forcing the online signer to have a witness in the room) ... makes it extremely difficult to accept e-signatures.”
We understand that the Utah Legislature’s leadership does want to make it very difficult to accept any petition signature, be it in writing or via the Web. The majority party in Utah doesn’t like the body public to intrude into what it regards as its sole business.
But we are disappointed in Bell. Our lieutenant governor has shown in the past an independent streak. He knows better than to unveil rules on e-signatures that effectively negate any chance of having e-signatures. It’s very disingenuous.
The Utah Supreme Court recently made it clear to Utah’s political establishment that e-signatures will be acceptable. It’s too bad our pols can’t accept that reality.
Initiative petitions
It’s time to relax signature quota
Jul 15, 2010 (Salt Lake Tribune Editorial)Some people are sore winners.
Last month, two initiative petitions fell far short of the 95,000 signatures necessary to qualify them for the 2010 general election ballot. One sought to reform ethics in the Legislature, the other to change the process for redrawing political boundaries.
Utah’s Legislature already has erected high procedural hurdles for initiative sponsors to climb. Yet even though most initiative efforts fail to overcome those obstacles, at least one lawmaker wants to set them even higher. Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, would increase the number of required signatures if the courts decide that electronic signatures are valid on initiative petitions.
Such a ruling is a possibility. The Utah Supreme Court held last month that electronic signatures are valid to qualify unaffiliated political candidates for the ballot.
The Legislature already has stacked the deck against initiatives to the point that it has seriously undermined the right guaranteed to the people under the Utah Constitution to propose laws through the process. Any further effort in that direction should be resisted as unconstitutional.
Current law requires initiative sponsors to gather petition signatures equal to 10 percent of the vote cast for governor in the previous general election. That equates to 95,000 signatures now. In addition, this quota must be met in 26 of the 29 state senate districts, meaning the signature gatherers must travel the length and breadth of a state that is sparsely populated outside the Wasatch Front.
If the courts were to rule that electronic signatures are valid for initiative petitions, that would presumably make it easier to gather them. It would be possible to throw up a web site to encourage Utahns to sign a petition. But sponsors still would have to get people’s attention, not an easy task in today’s fractured and fractious world of Internet media.
The point here should be that a 10 percent standard is enough to demonstrate serious public support and weed out frivolous proposals.
Among the 24 states that allow the people to propose laws through initiatives, Utah has one of the higher signature requirements. In California and Colorado, it is 5 percent of the vote for governor. In Oregon, it’s 6 percent. In Idaho, the standard is 6 percent of qualified electors and there is no distribution requirement. Washington requires 8 percent with no distribution requirement. Nevada and Arizona have 10 percent standards similar to Utah, but Arizona does not have a geographic distribution requirement.
If anything, it’s time to relax Utah’s standard.
Signing petitions
Electronic signatures should be valid
Jul 12, 2010 (Salt Lake Tribune Editorial)Lt. Gov. Greg Bell has issued a rule explaining how election officials should treat electronic signatures on petitions for initiatives and referenda. The rule makes it impossible for a voter to read a petition online and then sign it electronically unless a “petition circulator” witnesses the electronic signing. This provision destroys the utility of electronic signature-gathering. Once again, Bell has placed himself on the wrong side of democracy and the people’s right to initiatives and referenda under the Utah Constitution.
We recognize that under the state constitution it is the prerogative of the Legislature to write the laws that guide the petition process. One could argue, then, that it is prudent for the lieutenant governor, a member of the executive branch, to issue rules that closely follow the laws enacted by the Legislature that govern the gathering of conventional written signatures on paper petitions. That’s what he’s done.
However, we believe that in this case, when a right reserved to the people by the state constitution is at stake, the lieutenant governor should err on the side of protecting and facilitating that right, especially when the Legislature has written laws that enable the use of electronic signatures in all kinds of business transactions with the state.
That is especially true after the Utah Supreme Court last month held that electronic signatures are valid for petitions that qualify political candidates for the ballot. In fact, it is because of that opinion that the lieutenant governor was obliged to issue an emergency ruling on how electronic signatures on other petitions should be treated.
Though the laws that control signature-gathering for those petitions are different than the ones for candidate petitions, many of the legal principles are the same. We would expect a court to construe the petition laws for initiatives and referenda liberally to protect the people’s constitutional rights. We would expect Bell to do the same. Unfortunately, he didn’t.
There are political reasons for that, of course. The Legislature traditionally is hostile to initiative petitions, and it has erected many procedural barriers to the collection of signatures in order to prevent laws proposed by the people from making their way to the ballot. The Legislature is particularly annoyed by the petition to establish ethics standards for legislators that is currently circulating.
But all public officials have a sworn duty to uphold the state constitution and the people’s rights guaranteed within it. Bell has failed that duty.
Ethics commission
New board ready for trial run
Jul 7, 2010 (Salt Lake Tribune Editorial)They’ve just slapped the wheels on, and already, the state may be taking its newly assembled ethics commission for a spin around the block.
Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, is mulling an ethics complaint against House Majority Whip Brad Dee, R-Ogden. Hansen claims that Dee, Weber County’s human resources director, attempted to silence Hansen’s brother, an employee of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. Hansen said Dee threatened to “make life miserable” for his brother, who had criticized Dee over proposed changes to the state’s public employee pension system.
At this point, all we’ve heard are allegations. If they’re true, they should be treated as a serious offense by the law, the Legislature and Dee’s employer.
The law has already passed on the case. Hansen filed a criminal complaint but Salt Lake City Prosecutor Sim Gill declined to file charges, noting conflicting claims and a lack of corroborating evidence. Now, if Hansen chooses to file an ethics complaint and it’s deemed “technically compliant” by the leaders of the House Ethics Committee, we’ll see the legislative version of ethics reform in action. Well, actually, we won’t.
The Legislature, in an attempt to shield lawmakers from false charges, put a lid on ethics proceedings from start to finish. If a complaint is discussed publicly after it is filed, it will be dismissed and the person who leaked the information could be held in contempt. The only way a complaint becomes public is if and when the commission deems the allegation to have merit, and forwards a recommendation for punishment to the Legislature.
That’s unfortunate, particularly in cases like Dee’s, when the allegations are already out. If a complaint is filed and Dee is exonerated, he will still be under public suspicion unless he asks to have the record released to clear his name.
Make no mistake, the new system is better than the old closed-door system, when lawmakers tried lawmakers on ethics allegations, and only legislators could file complaints. Now, an impartial panel of three retired judges and two former lawmakers, who were appointed last week, will adjudicate complaints grand-jury style. The commission has subpoena powers, a staff and a $50,000 budget to conduct investigations.
But, until lawmakers allow a public airing of all ethics complaints and proceedings, this attempt to mend the Legislature’s reputation in the eyes of the public will fail, and cynicism surrounding the Legislature, as well as the ethics complaint process, will persist.
News Flash: Great ruling on electronic signatures from Utah Supreme Court
June 22, 2010The court upheld the use of electronic signatures for gubernatorial candidate Farley Anderson. The court held that the Utah Code expressly contemplates the use of e-signatures and that a signature under the unaffiliated candidate filing requirements need not be pen put to paper. The court’s reasoning should result in the validation of e-signatures on initiative petitions too. Click here to read the court’s full opinion. For more details, see our press release.
Ethics petition vital to reform in state Legislature
G. Donald Gale | FEBRUARY 6, 2010 (The Deseret News)There was a time when Utah voters didn’t worry about the ethical standards of elected officials. “The system” took care of itself. The state Legislature had a healthy balance of political viewpoints. Journalists were aggressive, well-trained and informed. Lobbyists operated on the margins; few were full time, well paid or influential. Politicians were often statesmen, not political ideologues. And voters were generally well-informed.
Those vital checks and balances don’t exist today. The Legislature is politically one-sided, few journalists wander the halls of the state Capitol, ever-present lobbyists seek influence by any and all means, statesmen and stateswomen are scarce, and the public prefers propaganda over information. No wonder elected officials are tempted to push the limits of ethical behavior.
Poll after poll shows voter concern over abuse of ethical standards. In response, a citizens committee called Utahns for Ethical Government developed a petition to help voters raise their voices about the issue. If you believe in good government, sign the petition. It’s the first step in the long democratic process necessary to identify reasonable ethical guidelines.
Actually, it’s probably the third, fourth or fifth step along the way. The first step was public unrest. Citizens complained about too much influence peddling, too much vote buying and too much favoritism. Lawmakers recognized the public unrest, but their response was more cynical than realistic. They pretended concern, but they didn’t want to give up power or perks. So-called “ethics bills” were largely cosmetic — designed to fool voters into believing the problem was solved.
After years of this charade, it became obvious the Legislature would not voluntarily respond to voter complaints. Concerned citizens formed Utahns for Ethical Government to move the process along. Members include representatives from business, education, government and other groups. Some are former legislators who remember a time when ethics were part of the Legislature’s culture.
Most of the men and women we elect are good individuals. That isn’t the issue. The Capitol culture has changed. It’s difficult to hold your freeway speed at 65 mph when everyone around you is going 70 or 75. At the Legislature these days, money, tickets, meals and other “benefits” fly by at 80 or 90 mph (figuratively). The gift-givers do what lobbyists are paid to do — influence legislation. It’s difficult to reject tempting gifts when no one knows either the boundaries or the consequences.
Creating ethical standards is a way to make it easier for the good men and women who represent us to resist temptation. Some object to that line of thinking, but it’s the basis for most laws, moral standards and social mores — the “contracts” that keep society functioning.
The petition does not impose ethical standards. It simply opens the subject for public discussion so voters can decide by majority vote in November whether they want to put a process in place. Voters will have a chance to vote “yes” or “no” on specific ethical standards, on the enforcement process, and on sanctions to be applied when standards are violated.
But the process cannot proceed unless citizens approve the concept by signing the petition.
In addition to the ethics petition, two others are circulating. One involves the redistricting process and the way voting district boundaries are determined. Redrawing boundary lines must be done after this year’s census. The last attempt was badly botched. This petition begins the process to correct that serious problem.
The third petition deals with campaign contributions and the disposition of leftover campaign funds. It wasn’t a problem when campaign costs were small, but in recent years the cost of conducting campaigns — even for minor offices — has skyrocketed. The petition is the first step in making sure campaign funding mechanisms are not abused.
You can sign none or all of these petitions. Each deserves support.
In addition, the Legislature may offer a constitutional amendment to create some sort of legislative committee to look at ethical standards. This is simply a cynical stalling tactic to negate the more practical citizen petition. Make no mistake about it, if the petition were not circulating, the Legislature would not act. And if — when the April deadline comes — the petition doesn’t have enough signatures, you can be sure the legislative effort will fade away … or be altered into meaninglessness.
Add your voice to the many voices asking for ethical behavior by elected officials. Sign the petition!
G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words. He is a long-time observer of the political scene. He was formerly editorial director at KSL. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Utah and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southern Utah University.