House OKs bill to ban consulting by appointees
Utah House approves ethics bill to ban consulting work by political appointees
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah House has approved a measure to ban the kind of outside consulting work Utah Attorney General John Swallow did while serving as chief deputy under former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
The House approved the bill 70-1 on Tuesday. It now heads to the governor's desk.
Swallow collected $23,000 for providing consulting services on a Nevada cement plant project. He says the moonlighting was allowed because he was a political appointee, not a career state lawyer.
Republican Sen. Todd Weiler of Woods Cross says the legislation would close the loophole and restrict outside employment for top aides and state elected officials.
Swallow's undisclosed consulting work surfaced recently when he was accused of taking part in a failed bribery scheme to derail a federal investigation.
