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

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.

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