Supporters of a Utah Ethics Initiative failed to get enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot. But now the Utah Legislature has placed on the November ballot a constitutional amendment referred to as Amendment D. It’s known as the Ethics Amendment.Republican District 3 State Representative Jack Draxler of North Logan says this creates an independent commission to make decisions not only regarding ethical review but also what qualifies as an ethical charge. On KVNU’s For the People program Tuesday, Draxler said legislators recognized they needed to tighten up the ethics process.”We needed to be more transparent and we needed to be more impartial,” Draxler explained. “So the legislature went through this amendment and proposed it to the people. There is this independent commission which now allows, then, an ethics complaint to be filed by any citizen. “What it does now is screen those complaints to make sure they are legitimate, fair and honest. And if they’re legitimate, it passes them on to the legislative body to take action.”He says this commission would be comprised of a couple of retired judges and retired lawmakers, people who have proven themselves to be open, fair and honest. Draxler, who has no opposition in Tuesday’s mid-term election, says he feels the Ethics Amendment is a very positive thing.

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to see Amendment D as it will appear on the ballot on November 2, 2010.