Back in 2015 in Leap from legislator to lobbyist a short one in Minnesota, Dan Bauman and Rachel Stassen-Berger reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
The revolving door at Minnesota’s Capitol moves so quickly, it can be dizzying.
Longtime Rep. Jim Abeler pushed through this year. On Jan. 6 he ended his 16-year run representing Anoka in the Minnesota House. On Jan. 21, he registered to lobby his former colleagues.
Bluestem believes that former state representative Tom Hackbarth moved even more quickly. According to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's Legislators Past and Present entry for the Cedar Republican, Hackbarth finished his last term on January 2, 2017, after losing his party's nomination and primary for his seat in 31B.
On January 5, he registered as a lobbyist for BPAM(Bowling Proprietors Association of Minnesota), according to records online at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. That's three days, as opposed to Abeler's fifteen days, between leaving office and signing up as a lobbyist.
The 2015 Pioneer Press article went on to report that no one much cared about the revolving door in St. Paul:
Minnesota law is silent on the matter. But a House rule calls for a one-year cooling-off period for retiring legislators.
“Former state legislators must not register as lobbyists within one year from the date they leave office,” the rule says.
That instruction is routinely ignored. Meanwhile, Senate rules do not address the matter.
The newspaper’s analysis found at least 39 lawmakers from the House went on to become lobbyists and at least 16 did it before a year had expired on their service. Nine, though, happened before the House rule was enacted in 2007.
If former House members violate the rule, there is no consequence.
“Our House rules aren’t enforceable if you aren’t in the House,” said House Majority Leader Joyce Peppin, R-Rogers. She said she voted against the rule but did not sense the political will to dump it during this year’s biannual rule rewrite.
We'll do some checking to see if the Republicans--who control the rule-making along with the body--ever dumped the rule. Worth noting: former lawmakers from both parties in Minnesota do this, as we reported later in 2015 in our post, Who is served by the lobbying? Clients of Ann Lenczewski's new government relations team.
The Pioneer Press noted in 2015 that such hotbeds of ethical purity like Florida, Iowa and South Dakota require cooling-off periods between leaving office and lobbying the legislature. Here, there's a skyway from legislative office to lobbying.
Photo: Ethics street.
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