Utahns for Ethical Government

About Us

What is Utahns for Ethical Government?

Utahns for Ethical Government is a group of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and unaffiliated voters who have prepared an initiative for placement on the November 2010 general election ballot. The initiative would establish an Independent Ethics Commission and a strict code of ethical conduct for the Utah Legislature.

Among our supporters are former Governor Olene Walker and 39 former legislators from both major political parties. See our supporters link for more information.

Legislators work for and are accountable to us, the voters, not the other way around, and the legislature has not been responsive to the public’s desire for real ethics reform. Signing our initiative petition is a way to show the Legislature that voters care about legislators’ integrity and ethical behavior.

We need 95,000 signatures of legal voters to ensure that our ethics initiative is on the November ballot. Please be sure to sign, either on-line or by signing our paper petition.

Executive Summary

Executive Summary of Ballot Initiative for November 2010 General Election

The UEG ballot initiative establishes a non-partisan citizen ethics commission and a strict code of conduct to govern the ethical behavior of Utah legislators. The intent of the initiative is to ensure that legislators apply high standards of ethical conduct and represent the interests of the citizenry rather than catering to narrower special interests. For a variety of reasons, many political, it is difficult for the Utah Legislature to discipline its own members, and UEG believes that it is time for citizens to help the Legislature by creating a fair, non-partisan, and open process for reviewing complaints of ethical violations by legislators. Highlights of the initiative follow.

Non-Partisan Ethics Commission

* A 5-member commission, serving staggered 5-year terms as non-salaried commissioners
* The names of the 5 commission members are drawn at random from a pool of 20 independent-minded citizens who are chosen by unanimous agreement of the president of the Senate, speaker of the House, and the two minority leaders of the Utah Legislature.
* The commission appoints an executive director and appropriate supporting staff.
* The commission receives and investigates complaints of ethics violations lodged by any three persons, as defined in the initiative.
* The commission makes findings and recommends action to the legislature, using the initiative’s Code of Conduct as its standard. The legislature’s response to recommendations will be made public.
* The commission develops mandatory ethics training for the legislature.

Highlights of the Code of Conduct

* Legislators are prohibited from spending campaign funds on non-campaign personal expenses.
* Legislators are prohibited from contributing to one another’s campaigns with money from their own campaign funds.
* Legislators cannot be paid lobbyists during their terms of office or for 2 years thereafter.
* Legislators and their family members cannot accept gifts from paid lobbyists, such as meals, Jazz tickets, and golf fees. Gifts do not include light refreshments of negligible value.
* Legislators, when in doubt, can ask for a written opinion by the Commission that determines in advance whether an action contemplated by the legislator would violate the Code of Conduct.
* Legislators are prohibited from making threats, intimidating, or improperly interfering with or obstructing the duties and decisions of the courts and other employees of state government who are exercising the duties of their offices.
* Legislators are prohibited from accepting donations to their campaigns from corporations, non-profits, partnerships, and unions.
* Contributions to a legislator’s campaign funds are limited to $2500 per individual and $5000 per PAC in any 2-year election cycle.
* Money remaining in a legislator’s campaign account that is not spent within 5 years in a subsequent election campaign by the same legislator is transferred to the State School Fund or a Commission-selected-and-approved charitable organization of the legislator’s choice.
* Legislators must file forms annually (with the Ethics Commission) which disclose financial and business interests that could create potential conflicts of interest. The disclosures will be available to the public. As under current law, legislators must file reports with the Lt. Governor of financial contributions they have received.
* Legislators cannot be members of corporate boards when their position as a legislator is a contributing factor in their board appointment and they receive compensation for serving.

Volunteer With UEG!

Please volunteer your time to help get us over the top! We can also pay signature gatherers in a few areas.

In many of the Utah Senate Districts (most of Salt Lake County, Davis County, and parts of Weber County, as well as a few other spots) we are well over or nearly over the number of signatures needed. We’re closing in on the goal of 95,000 signatures, but in a number of crucial areas, we still have some important work to do.

We’re into the final 3 weeks of signature gathering. We have events and places for you to go if you can give us several hours of your time. Here are the areas of the state where we’d particularly like more help to not only reach the required number of signatures but obtain 20% over, as a buffer:

Cache County: contact Vik Arnold at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1000 signatures still needed to meet our buffer—10 helpers could finish the job)

Huntsville, Morgan, Coalville, or Clearfield: Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1300 signatures still needed to meet buffer—13 helpers could finish the job)

Salt Lake County: Contact Irene Fisher at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1300 signatures needed between districts 5 + 11, and 12 to meet buffer—13 helpers could finish the job)

Utah County: contact Tom Sakievich at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(6000 signatures still needed to meet buffer—60 helpers could finish the job)

Carbon and Emery Counties: contact Connie Watts at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1500 signatures still needed to meet buffer—15 helpers could finish the job)

Washington County: contact Connie Watts at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1500 signatures still needed to meet buffer—15 helpers could finish the job)

Duchesne and Uintah Counties: contact Connie Watts at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

(1800 signatures still needed to meet buffer—18 helpers could finish the job)

In targeted areas, we can also pay signature gatherers ($1.00 per signature of registered Utah voters). If you’re interested, contact Connie Watts at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

With an extra push these last few weeks, we can reach our goal. Contact us today!

Sign Me Up!

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