Bravo to Nielson for Proposed Legislation on Conflicts of Interest

Bravo to State Rep. Jim Nielson of Bountiful for suggesting legislation allowing legislators to abstain from voting when faced with a conflict of interest.

Currently, law requires them to vote if they are on the floor when the vote is taken. And, if it is a close vote, they can be summoned to come vote even if they have a conflict.  Nielson has said he is believes the current law's intent was to shield the legislators from being criticized for voting on matters where someone might say they had a conflict of interest. With the law in place, the legislator is able to simply say, "I had to vote. It's the law."

But, Nielson is right. Legislators should have the right to sidestep conflicts of interest. I wish we even had a way of listing possible conflicts on each vote. Maybe we could ask the legislator to say whether he or she is aware of any conflict each time a vote is cast, including whether any campaign contributor stands to benefit. 

Currently, legislators file a conflict of interest statement. And, if a matter is not on that disclosure, they are allowed to disclose it at the time of the vote.

But, allowing them to disclose it is different from requiring them to say they are not aware of any conflict, including saying they are aware of no campaign contributor being in position to benefit.