On Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in Miller v. Ziegler, ruled that a Missouri law barring state officials from becoming paid lobbyists for two years after leaving office is unconstitutional. This law, Article III, Section 2(a) of the Missouri Constitution, was introduced through a 2018 ballot initiative. It explicitly prohibited members or employees of the general assembly from serving as paid lobbyists for two years post-tenure.
The appeals court utilized the First Amendment in their decision, ruling that lobbying constitutes a form of political speech by aiming to influence government policy. Consequently, the law faced “strict scrutiny”, a high standard of judicial review for laws that impact political speech. Citing Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the court emphasized that any law burdening political speech must withstand strict scrutiny. The court dismissed Missouri’s argument about preventing corruption due to a lack of evidence, declaring there was no compelling interest as the problem was unproven.
Despite the court’s findings, concerns over corruption in Missouri remain. The Center for Public Integrity rated Missouri with a D- in its 2015 State Integrity Investigation. The investigation noted that 11 Missouri legislators had become lobbyists shortly after leaving office since 2012. Furthermore, Missouri passed the “Clean Missouri” plan in 2018 via a ballot initiative, which included the contested lobbying restriction and a non-partisan office for redistricting. The redistricting plan was later altered through another ballot initiative in 2020 to involve a commission appointed by the governor, as detailed on Ballotpedia.
For further details, you can read the full article on JURIST.