Utah House approves measure to stop government payroll deductions for PACs; legal risk flagged

The Utah House of Representatives passed First Substitute House Bill 179 on Jan. 30, 2001, by a 42-33 vote, approving legislation that prohibits government payroll withholding for political action committee (PAC) contributions and moves such collection responsibilities out of government payroll systems.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Bennion, was presented as the Voluntary Contributions Act. Bennion said the measure "gets government out of the role of collecting political contributions," emphasizing that "I can still speak out on any issue" and that the bill would not prevent individuals from supporting candidates or causes outside payroll withholding.

The debate centered on two questions: whether government should facilitate PAC collections through payroll systems and whether the statute would withstand constitutional challenge. Opponents argued the bill singled out public employees and impermissibly interfered…