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Federal judge rules that ban on lobbying by elected officials violates free speech
Federal judge rules that ban on lobbying by elected officials violates free speechA federal judge on Wednesday put a permanent halt to a lobbying ban approved by voters in 2018, striking down a provision in the state constitutional amendment that bars officeholders from earning money in their private lives as lobbyists.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami sided with Miami-Dade County Commissioner René Garcia and Javier Fernández, the mayor of South Miami, who argued that the amendment language was too broad and poorly defined to comply with federal First Amendment protections on free speech. Bloom had imposed a temporary injunction in February and her ruling on Wednesday makes it permanent.
The amendment was placed on the 2018 ballot by the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, a citizen-led group that has the power to recommend changes to the Constitution every 20 years.
The sponsor of the amendment, former Senate President Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and member of the commission, was quoted as saying that the goal of the amendment was to “nail shut the revolving door” between public office and private lobbying. Voters approved it with 78.9% in favor.
The ruling said Gaetz argued that the purpose of the amendment was to end the practice of officials in public office leaving for lucrative careers lobbying the agencies “they previously headed” or by “serving on the county commission while simultaneously lobbying another local government that has interconnected interests.”
But Bloom concluded that while the advocates of the constitutional amendment attempted to remove any potential “conflict of interest” from officeholders who were receiving income from lobbying firms, she said there had been no “evidence that the problem exists.”
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami sided with Miami-Dade County Commissioner René Garcia and Javier Fernández, the mayor of South Miami, who argued that the amendment language was too broad and poorly defined to comply with federal First Amendment protections on free speech. Bloom had imposed a temporary injunction in February and her ruling on Wednesday makes it permanent.
The amendment was placed on the 2018 ballot by the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission, a citizen-led group that has the power to recommend changes to the Constitution every 20 years.
The sponsor of the amendment, former Senate President Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and member of the commission, was quoted as saying that the goal of the amendment was to “nail shut the revolving door” between public office and private lobbying. Voters approved it with 78.9% in favor.
The ruling said Gaetz argued that the purpose of the amendment was to end the practice of officials in public office leaving for lucrative careers lobbying the agencies “they previously headed” or by “serving on the county commission while simultaneously lobbying another local government that has interconnected interests.”
But Bloom concluded that while the advocates of the constitutional amendment attempted to remove any potential “conflict of interest” from officeholders who were receiving income from lobbying firms, she said there had been no “evidence that the problem exists.”
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