Headline of the Week: "Shurtleff: Beer group drafted my testimony"

From the Trib:

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in support of a measure that would cede control of liquor sales to states, a move that comes as some groups are using federal courts to strike down state laws regulating alcohol.

After the hearing, Shurtleff acknowledged that the general counsel for the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Paul Pisano, drafted his testimony — with Shurtleff’s input.

“He gave me some information,” Shurtleff said in a telephone interview as he was boarding a plane Wednesday evening. “I was communicating with him, and he drafted it for me because I was coming straight here [to Washington, D.C.]”

Shurtleff later explained that Pisano arranged for his trip to the nation’s capital and he knew Pisano could print it out for him. An electronic copy of Shurtleff’s testimony submitted to the Judiciary Committee indicates that the author of the Word document was “ppisano.”

Pisano didn’t return a late call seeking comment.

Why write your own speech when a lobbyist can do it for you?

Lobbyist, Not a Lobbyist

Mike Lee claims that going up to Capitol Hill to advise the legislators that a bill is constitutional does not mean he needed to be registered as a lobbyist, even though his client was directly involved with the bill.

His source in the Lt Governor's office needs to check out the Lt Governor's Web Site:

Utah Election Law places regulations on lobbyist activities. A lobbyist, under these regulations, is an individual who receives some kind of payment to lobby a public official other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses. Lobbying a public official is defined in Utah Code 36-11-102 as "communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing the passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative or executive action."

Public Official:

A public official for lobbying purposes is any of the following:

· a member of the Legislature

· an individual elected to a position in the executive branch, or

· an individual appointed to or employed within the legislative or executive branch if the individual makes policy, purchasing, or contracting decisions; drafts legislation or make rules; determines rates or fees; or makes adjudicative decisions.

Blatant Dishonesty in Bramble/Snowbird's Corroon Bashing

Rolly:

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said he is sponsoring a bill that would allow Sandy to annex Snowbird Ski resort away from the jurisdiction of Salt Lake County because of the mean and nasty taxes and fees imposed by that mean and nasty Democrat, Mayor Peter Corroon.

If Bramble lived in a community so poorly treated, he would look to the heroic Utah Legislature for help, too, the senator told The Salt Lake Tribune recently.

And Snowbird general manager Bob Bonar told The Tribune that its temptation to be rescued by Sandy has nothing to do with future development, or zoning issues, but the desire to be under "an efficient, cost-effective government for our area."

However, even though I dislike the public safety fees from the County, using them as a basis for leaving doesn't exactly hold melted snow:

Cities are permitted by the Legislature to impose a utility franchise tax on its residents. The unincorporated county is not permitted to do that. So by moving to Sandy, Snowbird would be saddled with a new tax that would be more than the new $120,000 law enforcement protection fee being imposed by Salt Lake County, which both Bonar and Bramble cited as a reason for the move.

So, why does Snowbird really want to leave the county?

Bramble's bill was filed three days after Bonar met with Salt Lake County Council members Randy Horiuchi and Joe Hatch in which he asked for their support for Snowbird's plans to build a chairlift linking Hidden Peak to American Fork Twin Peaks. Hatch told me the meeting was "truly bizarre."

The problem is that the planned lift would drop skiers off right next to White Fork Canyon, an environmentally sensitive piece of Forest Service land that is being considered for wilderness study area designation.

Hatch said when he and Horiuchi didn't commit to Bonar's request, Bonar was miffed. A few days before the Horiuchi/Hatch meeting, Bonar met with Corroon, who also failed to do back-flips over the proposal.

And if you are a developer and get turned down by Randy Horiuchi, your plan must really suck. Either that or that's one developer that failed to donate to Randy's campaign.

And, of course, because Bramble is involved, a certain lobbyist isn't far behind:

Lobbyist Paul Rogers lists both Snowbird and Sandy as his clients. Rogers and Bramble are known by Capitol Hill observers to be extremely tight, with their families having vacationed in Europe together.

Greg Curtis: Thank-you For Smoking

"And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man..." Doctrine and Covenants 89:8 ("The Word of Wisdom")

Why, oh why would someone who professes to be a member of the LDS Church agree to be a lobbyist for a tobacco company?

Was Budweiser not hiring?

Since his law firm doesn't pay him enough, Greg Curtis has hired on as a lobbyist for Altria (parent company of Phillip Morris [Marlboro]), Utah Transit Authority, Intermountain Healthcare, Utah Sports Commission, Gold Cross Ambulance and Anderson Development.

And to think, we were worried about him using his $300,000 campaign bankroll for personal use.

-Bob

Obama on McCain's Lobby Ties

Legal Bribery

KSL:

Getting some of the toughest tickets in town was no problem for some state lawmakers thanks to a paid lobbyist.

Financial disclosure reports due Thursday show Micron Technology lobbyist Stan Lockhart paid for seven legislators to go the NBA playoffs.

Democratic Sens. Ross Romero and Scott McCoy received tickets to a Jazz playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers, along with Republican state Rep. Kerry Gibson. The tickets were worth $400.

Republican Sens. Pete Knudson and Howard Stephenson accepted tickets from Lockhart to a playoff game against the Houston Rockets.

Republican state Reps. Paul Ray and Lorie Fowlke also accepted tickets to see the Jazz and Rockets play. The tickets to the Rockets' game were worth a combined total of $500.

Antone want to tell my why this isn't blatant bribery by GOP Chairman Lockhart?

A Daily Show on Lobbyists