The vast majority of Utah legislators are devout members of the LDS Church, which counsels against the use of tobacco, and the bills they pass often reflect their religious affiliation. But many of these same lawmakers have no compunction about taking money from tobacco companies.
The Altria Group, parent company of the Phillip Morris tobacco conglomerate, just reported to the lieutenant governor’s office that it dumped $42,000 into campaign funds this election cycle, covering both 2007 and 2008.
Besides the 31 representatives and eight senators - Republicans and Democrats - who directly benefited, the House Republican Caucus received $2,500, the House Conservative Caucus got $2,500, the House speaker’s political action committee got $5,000, the Senate Republican Caucus $5,000, the Salt Lake County Republican Party $3,000, the Utah County Republican Party $2,500, the Utah Republican Party $2,000, the Senate Democratic Caucus $3,000, the House Democratic Caucus $1,500 and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff $3,000.
Talk about hedging your bets.
Most of the legislators received between $400 and $800, but several in leadership positions made out far better.
House Majority Leader Dave Clark, for example, got $3,000 over the two-year period, while Senate Majority Assistant Whip Sheldon Killpack got $3,500.

Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble received $2,000, House Speaker Greg Curtis $1,750 and Conservative Caucus Chairman Greg Hughes $2,000.
Senate President John Valentine’s campaign received $1,000 from Altria and he’s running unopposed this year.
All that good corporate cheer may be paying off.
Altria was in the process of buying U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company last legislative session when Rep. Rebecca Lockhart, R-Provo, sponsored a bill to change the way smokeless chewing tobacco was taxed in Utah. Instead of 35 percent of the wholesale price, her bill would tax each can by weight. Since most brands come in 1.2-ounce cans, they all would be taxed the same - 90 cents per can.
That benefited USTC, and its buyer Altria, because they produce Skoal and Copenhagen, the two most popular, and pricey, brands of chewing tobacco. The tax change would reduce the companies’ state tax obligation by 15 cents per can, while the cheaper brands made by their competitors would see a tax increase.
Lockhart said at the time that her bill would discourage minors from buying chewing tobacco because they are attracted to the cheaper brands. But the legislation was opposed by the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Coalition for Tobacco Free Utah and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
The reason: minors, like adults, are prone to buy the more popular brands, which comprise 80 percent of the market in Utah, and the lower tax for those brands would make them less expensive to buy.
Lockhart, interestingly, received no money from Altria. But her close political ally, Bramble, did. When her bill passed the House, it languished in the Senate Rules Committee for weeks, then was brought out by Bramble on the last night of the session and was passed by one vote.
It still hasn’t lowered the retail cost of Copenhagen and Skoal, however. Tobacco sellers tell me they kept the retail price the same and pocketed the 15 cents per can saved by the new tax method.
Those corporate campaign contributions could pay off in the coming legislative session as well. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, has proposed a $1.35 tax increase per pack of cigarettes. And you can bet that legislators voting on that bill who took contributions from Big Tobacco will be reminded of past generosities, and perhaps future expressions of gratitude.