The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) just released a review of state regulations of “revolving door” lobbying practices.
Commenting on the value of these restrictions, ICPR Executive Director Sarah Burne stated that
“Revolving door lobbying restrictions serve to prevent special interests from exerting any undue influence through recently departed state employees and elected officials. ICPR found that a "cooling off" period of one year for state legislators and employees is the norm in a vast majority of states. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform was founded to pursue the mission of transparent and accountable government, and these types of policies exist to serve that interest and build public trust."
The ICPR report noted that 39 of the 50 states have some form of ‘cooling off’ period restricting lobbying activity, while 11 of the 50 states have no policy regulating post-employment lobbying activity.
Let’s take a peek at those two groups of states. Which states do you think are in better shape, financially? States that have formal post-employment lobbying restrictions, or states that do not?
Which states have higher trust in state government?
One might think that states without restrictions are subject to abuse.
But one of those chicken-or-the-egg things could also be happening here. States without restrictions may not have them because they have stronger things, like ethical cultures, going for them.
Well, looking at the data with our State Data Lab facility, states without formal lobbying restrictions tend to be in better shape, financially. They also tend to score higher on trust in state government.
This is a reminder that formal restrictions are not necessarily good for you, even if you need them. Warm, soft and fuzzy things like culture and leadership matter.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that states with formal restrictions don’t have culture and leadership. Some states need those formalities, and leaders like ICPR can promote accountability where it is needed.
You can learn more about the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform at its website, here.