Former Legislators Could Immediately Become Lobbyists Under Senate Bill

Former legislators could immediately become lobbyists under legislation from Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson.

Under Montana law, state legislators, elected state officials, department directors, appointed state officials, and members of elected official’s personal staff are not allowed to be licensed as lobbyists if they’ve served in any of those positions over the previous two years. Senate Bill 222 would remove the statute entirely. Speaker of the House Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, and Sen. Wylie Galt, R-Martinsdale, are co-sponsoring the bill.

Hertz argued Wednesday, March 19, that the ban was unconstitutional, and an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision had already ruled on the topic.

The court ruled in Miller v. Ziegler, a Missouri case, a two-year ban on former elected officials becoming lobbyists was unconstitutional, essentially saying it burdened political speech and that such a ban must be narrowly tailored.

The idea behind the lobbying rules is to prevent corruption. Say, for example, a member of the legislature is promised a lobbying position in exchange for a vote or other political favor. “The Court recognized lobbying is a form of political speech and warranting strict scrutiny and the most rigorous standard at the judicial level,” Hertz said in a Senate State Administration Committee meeting. “They acknowledged Missouri’s legitimate interest in preventing corruption, but the court found the two-year ban to be excessive.

“The ruling emphasized that less restriction, less restrictive measures, could effectively address corruption concerns without duly infringing upon individual free speech.”

The bill had support from some lobbyists, several of whom said they had to deal with the ban themselves, or have seen it play out.

Frank Cote, the state’s deputy insurance commissioner, who was speaking for himself, described a situation where it was an issue. Cote said his predecessor was a classified employee and could lobby immediately after leaving his position. However, since Cote was appointed, he could not.

“The law as it stands today is all hat and no cattle and was, quite frankly, built on a house of cards,” Cote said. “The dirty little secret is not the thick steaks and whiskey. That’s just another red herring. I’m not sure if the current law was crafted by Darth Vader, the Chinese Communist Party, but I do know it has Stalinist tactics in it.”