Utah Legislators Talk About Ethics Complaint

Jul 17, 2008 by Jeff Robinson

Meeting Was Very Productive, Says Rep. Sheryl Allen

(KCPW News) Two Utah Republican legislators came together this week to iron out a tense situation between a handful of representatives and Republican leadership. Representative Sheryl Allen sat down with House Speaker Greg Curtis on Wednesday. She says it was a productive, frank discussion that allowed her to present her concern that only legislators are allowed to file ethics complaints against fellow legislators.

"That is extremely difficult to do on a personal level, both for the person about whom the complaint is filed, and for those who file a complaint, and in fact it's an enormously high threshold," said Allen. "If we are the people's servants, we need to re-evaluate that process."

Allen says she doesn't want the ethics complaint process to become easy, but hopes that other people outside the legislature can be allowed to file documented complaints.

Although the group of five legislators who filed the recent complaint against Representative Mark Walker were accused of political grandstanding, Allen says under the current system, it was the only way to do it.

"There is only one way to file a complaint, and that is for three or more legislators to do it," she said. "There's no other choice."

Allen says she also discussed the contents of the complaint itself with Speaker Curtis, and appreciated his insight and perspective about the situation.

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