Pre-fab bills | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Paying membership dues (often out of campaign contributions) in order to access "model" legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council is the legislative equivalent of purchasing term papers online ("ALEC bringing its clout, agenda and convention to Utah," Tribune, July 15).

Any lawmaker who cannot draft his or her own legislation based on the needs of constituents has no business serving in the Utah Legislature.

I elect local people to serve in our Legislature, and I expect them to focus on listening to Utah citizens to creatively solve local issues.

Certainly, this is harder than simply downloading "model" legislation, but if you aren't willing to do the work, don't run for office.

Buying pre-fab legislation from a secretive organization two time zones away is beneath the dignity of the office of an elected representative. This remains true, whether the organization is conservative or liberal.

Ingrid Griffee

Salt Lake City