Pacs, pics and politics: business at the legislature.

• Author: Jarrard, G.M.
• Position: Utah House, Senate to debate legislation affecting business in upcoming 1992 session

PACS, PICS AND POLITICS: Businesses at the Legislature

The business of America, Calvin Coolidge once observed, is business. And, in Utah, many hold the view that the business of the Legislature is business. No one could put up a strong argument that the Republican-dominated House and Senate aren't generally pro-business. But, upon closer inspection, what appears black and white to some, is a fine shade of grey.

According to LaVarr Webb, former managing editor and business editor of the Deseret News and now campaign director for the Leavitt for Governor Committee, people too often look at business as a monolith.

"In some quarters, business interests are seen as being all powerful at the Legislature, when in actuality, business interests often conflict with each other, lining up on opposite sides of controversial issues," Webb noted. In matters such as licensing issues, state-assessed taxes on the property of large industries or even clean-air regulations, businesspeople often split into opposing factions.

Webb also pointed out that the powerful influence of other groups, such as the Utah Education Association and the Utah Public Employees Association (UPEA), provides a strong counterbalance to business interests. Both the educators and the public employees are much better at mustering their forces and turning out their members than business groups. These "checks and balances" result in a process where no one group, including business, is over-represented at the expense of someone else, Webb added.

In the opinion of others, however, this "checking and balancing" is nothing more than behind-the-scenes power brokering, where special interests predetermine each year's legislative agenda without input from the citizenry.

Many are concerned that, as a result, people have been taken out of politics. One critic noted that time pressures are so great on legislators that they often take a lobbyist's statement at face value because there isn't time to dig into all the details. Other lawmakers do ferret out the facts, but at great personal sacrifice.

Former state senator-turned lobbyist, Paul Rogers, defends the efforts of lobbyists to represent their clients' interests.

"Good legislation is the product of good information," Rogers explained. And because of all the complex issues facing legislators, there's now more lobbying going on than ever before. Rogers agrees...