A continuing war over legislative ethics — and who should draw the lines that govern campaign finances, conflicts of interest and the professional behavior of Utah’s lawmakers — culminated last week in oral arguments before Utah’s Supreme Court.
At issue is whether sweeping legislative ethics reform, in the form of an initiative sponsored by a citizens group called Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG), can advance to this November’s ballot.
More than 100,000 Utahns signed their support on paper petitions that UEG circulated in the months between August 2009 and August 2010 — however, not enough had signed on by April 15, 2010, to meet the November 2010 deadline. At that point, 94,000 signatures were needed, and UEG had gathered just over 73,000 that county clerks were able to certify.
In a phone interview Sunday, UEG attorney David Irvine said a recent audit of the signature packets found 625 names that the Utah County clerk had disqualified because the packet circulators were not registered voters. However, no such requirement exists in state law, Irvine said.
Utah’s top court is expected to issue its opinion by mid-August, in just enough time to prepare ballots and voter information pamphlets for November’s showdown. Salt Lake Tribune
