Candidate Information Form: Utah House – District 53

Name: Katherine (Kathy) Lofft

Registered Party: Democratic

District: 53

Address: P.O. Box 680768, Park City, UT  84068-0768

Phone: (435) 659-1688

Email: klofft@hotmail.com

Website: www.votelofft.com

Candidate Background Information

Occupation: Attorney

Education: B.A., Smith College; J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School

Prior Experience: DC Law Revision Commission

Questions

The League of Women Voters has made every effort to present accurately the candidates' responses as they were submitted.

1. If elected, what two things do you hope to accomplish as a member of the House of Representatives for the people of Utah ?
   
   Presuming I win this race, I will be a member of the minority party in a legislative body that is wildly out-of-balance.  State government in Utah is effectively a 'one-party' system with the House of Representatives dominated by a greater than two-thirds supermajority.  The minority party has limited ability to influence the legislative agenda in a meaningful way and few opportunities to sponsor, or lead the passage of, key legislation.    
   
           Regardless, I would welcome the opportunity to try to bring much-needed change to the state and to the legislature.  At the state level, I believe we need to better position Utah as a center for economic development, particularly in our rural areas.  We must continue to find ways to support and improve our public education system, including improving the quality of and access to early childhood and higher education.  We would benefit some key industries, including agriculture, outdoor recreation and tourism, by doing more to protect and preserve our regional air and water quality.  We can and must do more to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable health care, and to appropriate insurance at reasonable rates.  
   
           The legislature and its activities require some reform as well.  Utah has few if any campaign finance rules.  Candidates may accept donations in any amount from individuals and political action committees, and may accept money directly from corporations.  The rules, to the extent they exist, are so lax that it is possible for campaign donations to be converted to personal use by candidates.  Federal (and in some cases, local) law imposes restrictions on the receipt and use of campaign donations, but state legislative candidates are not subject to similar requirements. 
   
           We also need to bring meaningful ethics reform to the legislature.  Among other things, I would like to revisit the idea of establishing an independent ethics commission, one supported by nearly three-quarters of voters in the state.  I would also like to examine and consider modifying the existing restrictions on the investigative powers of the legislative ethics committee.
   
   
2. How would you address the following issues? (Please answer each question in 200 words or less.)
   - Adequate funding for education, including funding for disadvantaged populations such as non-English-speakers and prison inmates
   
   First, we need to protect the key source of funds for the public education system; namely, tax revenues.   In a state where per pupil spending is already the lowest in the nation, our legislature has been trying to eliminate most income tax brackets and move towards a regressive flat-tax.  Some have raised the idea of substantially reducing or eliminating the corporate franchise tax.  The effective property tax rates paid by not only locally assessed but also centrally assessed properties appear to have declined in the past three years.  All of this has or may have a substantial impact on funding for public education. 
   
           Utah boasts a rainy day fund that reportedly totals in excess of $400 million.  To date, the legislature has elected not to use any of these funds in support of public education.  While it is undeniably prudent for the state to maintain a rainy day fund of some size, it is unforgivable for the state to build that fund on the backs of our children.  Some of these funds should be released to help increase teachers' salaries and relieve classroom overcrowding.  However, we should also develop a long-term spending plan for our public schools to ensure we are using our resources wisely.
   
   - Energy resource development and clean air
   
   Utah is heavily dependent on traditional fossil-based fuels, including coal and oil.  To help ensure our country's security, and for economic and health reasons, we need to build reliance on alternative energy resources.  Despite popular mythology, many of these resources have already been developed and are ready to begin producing energy in commercial quantities for large-scale consumption.   We should be investing heavily in clean energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels.  Some of these sources are available here in Utah in abundance.  Investments in this area will help us establish energy independence and create new and, in many cases, high-tech and/or well-paying jobs that cannot be outsourced.  
          
           Well over 90% of Utah's energy derives from coal, the production of which, among other things, releases toxic pollutants into the air.  With many new areas in Utah, including Box Elder and Tooele Counties, joining Salt Lake County, Cache County and Utah County on the EPA's non-attainment list for fine particulate matter, it's time to take aggressive measures to clean our air.  Among other things, we should consider adopting the EPA's new model state idling law and expand efforts to retrofit diesel vehicles, including school buses, construction trucks and transit buses and vans.
   
   - Water development and conservation
   
   While much of the water available to Utah has been used for agricultural purposes, the mix of uses is changing.  Our urban areas are growing rapidly, and the increasing demand for water in these areas may pose a real challenge over time.  While the state has successfully reduced its total water consumption in recent years, Utah still leads most states in the amount of water used on a per person basis.   While Utah has apparently not used all of the water available to it under the Colorado River Compact, there is little doubt that the state will have to develop more water to meet its growing needs.
   
            We can acquire water in at least three ways:  we can develop more water, we can conserve water or we can transfer water among uses.   Growing populations combined with drought-like conditions in the West may limit the possibilities for developing new water sources.  The state has a goal to reduce per capita water use by 25 percent by the year 2050; however, we may need to be more aggressive in promoting conservation.  We should encourage creative approaches to reducing water consumption, including irrigation controls and landscaping ordinances.  The state should also take the lead by requiring water conservation in state buildings.
   
   - Better communication between elected officials and their constituents
   
   It is clear that our state legislature is not attuned to the needs and interests of the voters in Utah.  Particularly in the last several years, the legislature has produced some dubious outcomes, including "omnibus" bills of questionable constitutionality, a school voucher proposal that was later defeated by an overwhelming majority of voters and an immigration bill that was passed before any real analysis or examination of the issue or the potential impacts of the bill was completed.   The legislature has also failed to act in areas that voters have indicated are important to them, including approving the creation of an independent ethics commission. 
   
            Many of our representatives do little to try to solicit or understand the concerns or issues most important to the people they represent.  Our representatives should be encouraged - in fact, expected - to maintain an "open door" policy of communications and response.  Each should be encouraged to hold regular town hall meetings in key areas of his or her district and to send periodic legislative updates to voters.  Each should maintain a website with comprehensive and updated information about his or her activities.  Finally, each should leverage new techniques (e.g., blogging, video) to reach out to voters, particularly younger voters.
   
   
3. If the State had a revenue surplus of $100 million, how would you allocate the money? (Response should include $______________ for ________________________________.
   
   Recent reports suggest the state ended the last fiscal year at least $100 million in the red.  If these reports are correct, this latest operating deficit was likely due, in large part, to declining tax revenues.  In fact, revenue projections for the year were adjusted downwards in the middle of the 2008 legislative session to account for lower-than-expected tax receipts.   Many economists are predicting that the economy will remain challenged well into 2009. 
   
   It remains to be seen, then, whether our state legislature will have any surplus to work with in the next year or whether it will be facing another deficit.   An August 19 article in The Deseret News indicates that GOP leaders have asked state agencies to prepare to trim from one to five percent from their budgets in the next year, in the event tax revenues fall below projections.   Of course, with the state having an over $400 million "rainy day" fund, this is a curious request, since state "rainy day" funds are commonly used to balance and to avoid having to cut critical spending during an economic downturn.   
   
   It would be difficult for any lay person - not to mention a first-time candidate and non-public official - to identify what should be done with "hypothetical" surplus funds.   This is, in part, because there is little transparency in the budgeting process.  For instance, although the governor's own budget recommendations for each fiscal year are made publicly available, the analysis and individual department recommendations underlying the governor's requests are not.  Thus, it is difficult to know where the governor's own recommendations may fall short of demonstrated needs as determined by the experts in each department.  
   
   Generally speaking, I would support a budgeting process that has greater transparency, so that voters can readily identify where and how their tax dollars are being spent.   I would also support changes to the rules governing the state's "rainy day" funds to ensure that we maintain a fiscally appropriate reserve while also ensuring there is greater clarity as to when and under what circumstances the funds will not only be set aside but also drawn upon.