Rachel E. Stassen-Berger and Dan Bauman
The Saint Paul Pioneer Press
🔗 Legislator to lobbyist — a short leap in Minnesota
🔗 Legislators to lobbyists: A database of their clients and cash
WHAT OTHERS DO
While Minnesota does not require a ‘cooling off’ period before former legislators can become lobbyists, many states and the federal government do have such requirements. A sample:
Federal: U.S. Senators are not supposed to lobby Congress for two years after they leave the Senate. For U.S. House members, the ban is one year.
Colorado: “For a period of two years following vacation of office, no statewide elected officeholder or member of the general assembly shall personally represent another person or entity for compensation before any other statewide elected officeholder or member of the general assembly.”
Florida: “Members of the legislature and statewide elected officers are prohibited from personally representing another person or entity for compensation before the government body or agency of which the individual was a member for two years following vacation of office.”
Iowa: Legislators are banned for two years from lobbying and receiving “compensation for any services rendered on behalf of any person, firm, etc., in relation to any case or proceeding with which the person was directly participated.”
South Dakota: “No elected officer may act or register as a lobbyist, other than a public employee lobbyist, during a period of one year after the officer’s termination of service in the state government. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.”
Sources: National Conference on State Legislatures; Congressional Research Service
Dan Bauman 