Federal appeals court rules against Missouri’s waiting period for ex-lawmakers to lobby

2024-12-25 10:40:43 source:lotradecoin trading pairs availability category:Markets

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A federal court on Monday ruled against a Missouri ban on lawmakers taking sometimes lucrative lobbying jobs shortly after leaving office.

The 8th District Court of Appeals panel found that the ethics law, enacted by voters through a constitutional amendment in 2018, violated the free-speech rights of former legislators-turned-lobbyists trying to sway their successors.

Supporters of the two-year ban on lobbying were attempting to stop lawmakers and Capitol employees from misusing their political influence in hopes of landing well-paying lobbying jobs.

But the appeals panel ruled that the mere possibility of corruption did not justify violating free speech.

“Just because former legislators and legislative employees have better ‘relationships (with) and access (to)’ current legislators and legislative employees than others does not mean corruption is taking place,” the judges wrote in the decision.

The cooling-off period was enacted along with a range of other ethics-related rules, including a $5 limit on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and a change to how legislative districts are drawn. The redistricting portion was overturned in 2020.

RELATED COVERAGE One Extraordinary (Olympic) Photo: Charlie Riedel captures Simone Biles in flight at the Paris Games Missouri judges have overturned 2 murder convictions in recent weeks. Why did the AG fight freedom? Days before a Biden rule against anti-LGBTQ+ bias takes effect, judges are narrowing its reach

Former Republican state Rep. Rocky Miller and a company seeking to hire him as a lobbyist sued to overturn the waiting period.

Miller’s lawyer, Cole Bradbury, in a statement said the cooling-off period “was an ill-advised attempt to hinder political advocacy.”

“The law was based on nothing more than the idea that ‘lobbying’ is bad,” Bradbury said. “But as the Court recognized today, lobbying is protected by the First Amendment.”

The ruling likely will mean the ban falls. The judges sent the case back to district court, but Bradbury said “that is largely a formality.”

An Associated Press voice message left with the executive director of the Missouri Ethics Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the law, was not immediately returned Monday.

A spokeswoman said the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which represents the commission in court, is reviewing the ruling.

More:Markets

Recommend

Sabrina Carpenter reveals her own hits made it on her personal Spotify Wrapped list

Can you guess which artist made Sabrina Carpenter's Spotify Wrapped? The answer initially made the "

Vermont governor signs school funding bill but says it won’t solve property tax problem

Vermont schools can now postpone their March school budget votes and rewrite their spending plans af

Man pleads guilty in 2021 Minnesota graduation party shooting that killed 14-year-old

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a shooting at a 20