House approves six-year lobbying ban for former lawmakers, elected officials

The Florida House approved tough new ethics legislation Thursday barring members of the Legislature and statewide elected officials from lobbying their former colleagues for six years after leaving office.

The measure also would prevent officials from leveraging their authority to seek jobs from or going into business with lobbyists.

CS/SB 7083 passed on a vote of 118-0, even though House Speaker Richard Corcoran has conceded the Senate has little interest in boosting ethics laws this year, and with the scheduled end of session a little more than two weeks away.

Corcoran has pushed for more stringent ethics rules since becoming speaker. He oversaw rules changes tightening oversight of the lobbyists he views as wielding too much influence in Tallahassee, and imposing more transparency on the budget-writing process.

Existing law restricts lobbying by former lawmakers and elected officials for two years.