‘Public service requires personal sacrifice.’ MO lobbying ban upheld by federal judge
Missouri’s ban on lobbying by current lawmakers and legislative staff — and temporary ban after they leave office — doesn’t violate the right to free speech, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Harpool ruled last week against former state Rep. Rocky Miller, a Lake Ozark Republican, and General Assembly employee John LaVanchy. Both men had sued to overturn the lobbying ban, which voters approved in 2018 as part of the Clean Missouri amendment to the state constitution.
The amendment prohibits current lawmakers and employees of the General Assembly from paid lobbying during their time of service and for two years after they leave office. Miller and LaVanchy sued in December 2021 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleging the ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s right to free speech and petition.
The ban kept Miller from accepting a lobbying job with the waste management company Presidio in November 2021, though his two-year waiting period has now expired. LaVanchy, who works as a committee records specialist, is currently prohibited from paid lobbying under the Clean Missouri rules.
Harpool wrote in a written order that the Clean Missouri restrictions are a proportional and narrow limit intended to combat quid pro quo corruption and the appearance of corruption.
“Finally, it remains unclear to this Court why any duly elected representative would take an oath to uphold the Missouri Constitution, knowing fully well the effect of the Lobbying Ban, and nonetheless claim an infringement of First Amendment rights,” Harpool wrote. “An important and indispensable fact of this dispute is that a conscious decision was made to accept the responsibilities of public office that included a two-year limit on the profit that one could obtain in exchange for lobbying.”
“This fact further differentiates the instant case from genuine violations of the First Amendment. Public service requires personal sacrifice.”
Cole Bradbury, an attorney for Miller and LaVanchy, said in an email that “obviously we disagree with the ruling and plan to appeal.”
Harpool’s decision comes as Missouri prepares to mark the 5th anniversary of the Clean Missouri vote later this year. The amendment banned all but the smallest lobbyist gifts and set-up a non-partisan redistricting process.
In 2020, voters approved another amendment totally eliminating gifts for legislators but repealing the redistricting overhaul. The Clean Missouri also allowed local officials to continue accepting unlimited lobbyist gifts.
