Mike Lee Lobbied for Allied Waste in 2008 Without Registering

We have been following the story of Mike Lee failing to register as a lobbyist while lobbying for 1800-CONTACTS in 2009. To justify his claims Mike Lee's campaign released a statement regarding this issue (we previously covered)

"Mr. Lee had checked with the Lt. Governor's office and talked with Attorney Michael Cragun before engaging in any activity on the hill and was informed that his role of answering questions as to the constitutionality of any proposed legislation did not trigger or meet any filing or reporting requirements," says Boyd C. Matheson, Communication Director.

But it seems as the news hit that Mike Lee had not registered as a lobbyists, more people have come forward to expose this lie by the Lee campaign by pointing to other bills he lobbied for clients he represented including Allied Waste in 2008.

The Daily Herald picked up this story and this is exposes Mike Lee as an unregistered lobbyist.

Complaint filed against Senate candidate over lobbying
Joe Pyrah - Daily Herald | Posted: Saturday, June 5, 2010 12:01 am

A complaint has been filed against U.S. Senate candidate Mike Lee that he lobbied on several occasions without a license. Another lobbyist has also come forward to say that Lee lobbied for bills beyond what is allowed without registering.
In 2008, Lee advocated on behalf of Allied Waste over a bill about where carriers could dump their garbage, said Lincoln Shurtz, a lobbyist for the Utah League of Cities and Towns.
"Beyond legal expertise, there was no doubt he was trying to use his cachet," said Shurtz, who was on the other side of the debate.
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said there are shades of gray in the law.
"It's not uncommon for a client to have an attorney present. The vast majority of the time those attorneys aren't [registered] lobbyists," Bramble said. "I could probably rattle off a few dozen scenarios comparable to Lee."
State code reads that lobbying is "communicating with a public official for the purpose of influencing the passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative or executive action."
Audio recordings of committee hearings where Lee was present in 2008 show he initially spoke about technicalities of the bill, but toward the end of the discussion, his comments turned to advocacy.
"A vote for this bill is a vote to protect the free market economy from local government monopolization," he said at the time. "There is a strong temptation for that kind of monopolization to occur because this sort of monopolization offers the ultimate promise to local governments: The ability to raise revenue without having to raise taxes or issue bonds."
In addition to Shurtz's claim, a formal complaint was filed against Lee this week that he went outside the scope of an attorney for 1-800-Contacts and lobbied for that company in 2009. Paul Neuenschwander with the lieutenant governor's office said they did receive a complaint about Lee and that they will turn it over to the attorney general's office for investigation. He declined to give the name of the person who submitted the complaint until after the investigation.
The potential punishment for not registering as a lobbyist is a $1,000 fine, and it would not disqualify anyone as a candidate, Neuenschwander said.
Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, is one of those saying that Lee did indeed go outside the scope of being an attorney.
"Did Lee lobby? Yes. Many senators and lobbyists could verify that," he wrote on his blog.
He said in a phone interview that he didn't see it as a big issue, but that Lee has targeted his GOP primary opponent Tim Bridgewater for his part as a federal lobbyist for Thai Frozen Food Association. (Urquhart supports Bridgewater in the race.)
Lee's spokesman disagrees with the recent lobbying complaint, saying that Lee cleared with the Lt. Governor's Office first the things he was allowed to say before he went to the Capitol on behalf of 1-800-Contacts.
"Their lobbyists were there ... and Mike was there to answer the questions as related to the constitutionality and how it was all framed," said Boyd Matheson, who added that Lee spoke ahead of time with the lieutenant governor's office to make sure what he was going to say wouldn't require registration as a lobbyist.
Bramble ran the 2009 trademark bill in question, as well as a separate bill that helped Raser Technologies, which Bridgewater is part of. He said Friday that both men spoke to him about the proposed legislation, but that he didn't see it as lobbying.
There was also a strong ethics atmosphere in 2009, Bramble said, prompting him to call the lieutenant governor's office at the time. He said he was told that what Bridgewater and Lee were doing did not amount to lobbying.
"There are nuances. There are shades of whatever this is."

We will keep following these stories.

Sen. Steve Urquhart Responds "Mike Lee Lobbyist Issue"

In his blog www.steveu.com/blog Utah state Senator Steve Urquhart wrote a response to the news articles that broke yesterday concerning senate candidate Mike Lee's failure to register as a lobbyist when lobbying in 2009 for 1-800-Contacts. In Lee's campaign statement made to Fox 13 News, the Mike Lee campaign characterized Senator Steve Urquhart as "Tim Bridgewater's henchman"

"It is a last minute attempt, two weeks before an election, by Tim Bridgewater's henchman, Steve Urquhart, to smear Mike Lee over an action he fully cleared with the Lt. Governor's office a year ago." article

In response to the Lee campaign's attack, Sen. Steve Urquhart wrote the following >>


MIKE LEE LOBBYIST ISSUE

June 4, 2010
by Senator Steve Urquhart

Yesterday, someone filed a complaint about Mike Lee failing to register as a lobbyist. I don’t know who filed the complaint.

Because the lobbying involved a bill I championed, reporters asked me whether Lee had lobbied on the Hill. The answer is yes. Simple enough, right?

Because I answered the reporters’ questions, the Lee campaign called me a “henchman” for Tim Bridgewater (who, though I now support after Bennett’s defeat, I hadn’t really spoken with for 8 years prior to Lee’s immaculate lobbyist claims). Why the unhinged response by Lee? Does Lee think I should have “no commented” the questions? Does he think I should cover for him? Is he sending a message to the world that Mike Lee won’t tolerate scrutiny? Or does he simply have really thin skin? In any event, it’s weird behavior by Lee.

Did Lee lobby? Yes. Many senators and lobbyists could verify that. For example, this article notes that Lee’s friend, who is neutral in the race (but did host An Evening on the Constitution event for Lee), and who was working against us on the bill in question, also replied to media’s inquiries by stating that Lee lobbied. It’s simply not true that Lee didn’t lobby.

Many lobbyists, including Mike, add to the political process by succinctly sharing information and fielding technical questions. I don’t believe that anyone is saying he conducted himself in an inappropriate manner while lobbying. I personally asked Senators to meet with him about the bill, and while we sat there, he lobbied them. He did a fine job. It simply is a question whether he should have registered. If he believes he has a suitable answer, why not simply give it?

Lee is griping about the timing of the complaint. Is it political? Of course it is, but Lee seems to be the one who triggered the issue. He is the one who indignantly stated that Bridgewater is a lobbyist. The complaint appears designed to point out that Lee’s charges are hypocritical. It was a stupid political move on his part, and he got called on it.