Montana I-153, Licensed Lobbyist Regulations Measure (2006)
| Montana I-153 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Civil service |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated state statute |
Origin |
Montana I-153 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in Montana on November 7, 2006. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported prohibiting former state legislators, appointed officials, department directors, elected officials and their personal staff from becoming licensed lobbyists within 24 months after departing from state government. |
A "no" vote opposed prohibiting former state legislators, appointed officials, department directors, elected officials and their personal staff from becoming licensed lobbyists within 24 months after departing from state government. |
Election results
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Montana I-153 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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288,098 | 75.54% | ||
| No | 93,291 | 24.46% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for I-153 was as follows:
| “ | [ ] FOR prohibiting certain former state officials and staff from becoming licensed lobbyists within 24 months following their departure from state government. [ ] AGAINST prohibiting certain former state officials and staff from becoming licensed lobbyists within 24 months following their departure from state government. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The initiative was supported by Governor Brian Schweitzer, Reverend George Harper and State Representative Dave Wanzenreid. They argued that the proposed law was "among the strongest lobbying reform measures in America." They argued that the ability for state officials to immediately become lobbyists "puts a 'for-sale' sign on public service and allows well-funded advocacy groups to buy access at the expense of the ordinary citizen," stating that Montanans "need to know that [their] public servants are working for us, not cutting deals for private industry with hopes of landing a job when they leave office."[1]
Opposition
The measure was opposed by Jon Metropoulos, State Representative Ron Devlin and Linda Stoll. They argued that no private organization employed as many lobbyists as the state government, concluding that the state government "understands the value of lobbyists, including those who are former legislators" and stating that it is unfair of the Montana government to take advantage of lobbyists while taking that advantage away from the citizens.[1]
Path to the ballot
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. Proponents collected signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Montana Helena (capital) |
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