Should lobbyists at the Utah State Capitol be required to take anti-harassment training?
A Utah legislative committee rejected the idea when it was presented Wednesday, and the reason one legislator gave was a little too telling:
“The effect is we are regulating our guests,” said Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo.
Just to add a little reality, the lobby corps includes some of the most powerful people at the Capitol, and that is why lobbyists are already regulated. They are paid handsomely to extract gains from legislators, and they have both monetary and political benefits to offer in return. If a legislator thinks of them merely as “guests,” that says they’ve already ingratiated themselves.
If Thurston is overly trusting, then his colleague, Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, is just not paying attention. Amidst a national meltdown over sexual harassment and abuse, Greene dismisses the need for any harassment education.
“Anyone who has risen to the level of adulthood in this society knows what’s appropriate and what isn’t,” said Greene. “Let’s not justify any excuse of claiming ignorance by implying we somehow need to further educate adults.”
Tell that to Roy Moore, Harvey Weinstein and the avalanche of others who never considered their proclivities improper and, in many cases, still don’t.
For Greene, this isn’t his first collision with modern thinking on sex. It was just a couple of years ago in a legislative hearing when he seemed to question whether sex with an unconscious person is rape. “That makes sense in a first-date scenario, but to me, not where people have a history of years of sexual activity,”
Yikes. He apologized hours later, but not before he became a national story.
Another House member — one of only 21 women to serve in the 104-member Legislature — sees the idea of educating lobbyists differently. Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, has been a representative, a senator and a staff member on the Hill, and over the years she says she has been discriminated against for her religion, gender, age and pregnancy. “I’d love to say that common sense is enough.”
To their credit, Utah legislators and their staffs take the required harassment training before the start of each legislative session. If it’s not an undue burden for them, it’s not too much for the lobbyists, who spend just as much time in close quarters during the 45-day session. If any case of harassment by a lobbyist emerges after the training, legislators can say they were pro-active.
Let’s not be naive. For junior staffers at the Capitol, top lobbyists have power over you and can help or hurt your career. We should make sure all the lobbyists know where influence stops and harassment begins.