Meeting on April 15: Ethics Reform Presentation by Mark Carlin

We had the opportunity to hear from Mark Carlin this week.  Mark Carlin is a resident of Weber County who felt compelled to learn more about Ethics Reform before deciding whether he should sign a petition or not.  He gave us straight forward information about Government Ethics Reform.  We also had the opportunity to learn a little bit about an opposing initiative that we will see on the ballot this upcoming election, Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 3.

I want to start off by giving you some important links so that you can read the full petition as well as see the website of the sponsors and the opposition.

• PDF file of the full petition (when you click this link Adobe Acrobat will open the file)
• Website of organization that started this petition (Utahns for Ethical Government)
• An opponent of the petition, Utahns for Responsible Ethics Reform 
• Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 3-this IS something that is on the ballot: SJR3, Substitute, Second Substitute 

The long title for this petition is Government Ethics Reform.  It is a petition that was started outside of Utah's legislature to try to take care of ethics problems that may occur within congress.  It was started by 20 people that are separate from the legislature.  The sponsors have been trying to get 95,000 signatures so that it will appear on the ballot for voters to consider.  If it passes, it will create an amendment to Utah's Constitution.  This is not a normal bill though.  A normal bill will be debated by the legislature and usually will be amended.  The petition is an "as-is" thing and if it appears on the ballot and Utahns vote it in to law the law will be exactly the same as the petition.

There are two ways, set up by Utah's Constitution, that a Constitutional Amendment can occur.  The normal way, like SJR3, is that a bill is introduced in either the House or Senate and it needs to pass with a 2/3 majority to appear on the ballot for Utahns to decide on.  The other way, like Government Ethics Reform, is that a petition needs to have a certain percent or 95,000 signatures to appear on the ballot for Utahns to decide on.

Now for the details of this petition.  This petition would set up a separate ethics committee with 5 members.  If 3 of the 5 accuse a member of the legislature of "inappropriate acts" that member is required to sit out and await a trial.  Lawyers will then come in and try and prove the innocence of the accused.  Tax payers will be required to pay for the legal fees of these trials.  Doesn't sound TOO awful so far right?

The petition is very clear about what happens to pick the 5 people of the Ethics committee.  First, the members of the legislature will be allowed to volunteer.  If nobody steps up or if there aren't enough people the sponsors of this petition have the power to hand pick 20 people who they would like to fill these slots.  Also, the people must unanimously agree on each of the 5 individuals that make up this independent committee.  If even one person is opposed to an individual that person is excused and they get to hand pick the member for the committee.  The 5 individuals on the committee are in for life.  Nobody can vote for them and nobody can vote to remove them, it's a lifetime position.  The only thing that can remove them is repealing the amendment to the Constitution.  There's even question that this position could potentially be handed down to the individual's next of kin.

The big flaws with this petition are that the sponsors of the bill, a group of democrats that are sponsored by local Unions, are allowed to hand pick whoever they want to be in the 5 positions of the Ethics committee.  Even worse there is no limit to the power of the 5 individuals.  It is a lifetime position.  They do not answer to anyone.  They are separate from congress.  No one can remove them from their office if they do something unethical.  No one can remove them from office if they misuse their power.  They can't be held accountable for their actions.  Taxpayers, who are already strapped for cash, will be required to pay for all hearings and attorney fees if 3 of the 5 members accuse a congress member of "inappropriate acts."  If a member of the legislature is accused they are not protected by the Constitution in that they are "innocent until proven guilty" instead they are guilty until proven innocent.  The member that is accused is required to disclose their income (meaning amount and all sources), their spouse's income, their childrens' income, their parents' income, and their full extended family's income.

Mark Carlin does not believe any ethics reform is needed in our Utah legislature.  He could recall 5 problems with ethics in the past 10 years.  Of those 5, each one stepped down on their own.  He reminded us that every 2 years we have to vote for the members of congress.  Voters don't often forget an ethical problem and hold their representatives accountable for their actions.  The intent of this petition is to harm the Republicans.  Some Democrats are against this because they want to preserve Utah's Constitution and our Republic.  They don't want to place power in the hands of people that can't be held accountable for their actions if they misuse their power.

As set up in the Constitution currently congress is supposed to take care of itself and any ethical problems as they arise.  There is an Ethics Committee with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats (4 and 4) that review all problems that arise.  This petition stems from a problem of a tie a couple of years ago that allowed a member of congress to remain in their position because they weren't found guilty.

Another problem that was pointed out about this petition is that if it appears on the ballot it could be a similar situation to the one that happened with the California governor.  When there were 49 people that appeared on the ballot for governor people chose a name they were familiar with.  It's apparent that this group that started the petition will have plenty of resources to run ads on TV and other media outlets to get people to recognize the name so they vote "Yes" on the ballot.  The 21 page long petition will not appear on the ballot, it will be a simple "Shall we enact Ethics Reform?"

So what can you do if you signed the petition without knowing the details of it?  Utahns for Responsible Ethics Reform gives these simple steps:

1. Write, type, or print a statement on a piece of paper saying that you signed the petition for the Government Ethics Reform Initiative and that you wish to remove your signature from the petition. Include your name and address. Click here to print a signature removal statement.
2. Take the statement to a Notary Public and sign it in his presence and have him notarize it.
3. Deliver the notarized statement to your county clerk’s office immediately.

You should do this as soon as possible, because you can’t get your signature removed once the petition has been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor. The petition will be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor if and when 95,000 signatures get collected. We don’t know how many signatures have been obtained thus far.

***Some County Clerks may have a different procedure so it would be best to call your County Clerk prior to following these steps.  No matter what though you need to act QUICKLY***

Whether you signed the petition or not you can also spread the word.  The same website also has 6 different fliers you can print out and give to your friends and neighbors.  You can also share this blog with your friends.  You can post a message on your Facebook account.  You can share the links with your friends.  This is an important issue and could easily change Utah's government.