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Revolving Door Restrictions by State, 2019

By Caralyn Esser and Craig Holman

Read the .PDF of Revolving Door Restrictions in the States, 2019

Generally, a revolving door policy prohibits a former officeholder or governmental employee from lobbying the same governmental agency or the same official actions for a reasonable “cooling-off period” after leaving public office. Most states (33 states) have some form of revolving door policy that restricts lobbying activity for one year or less. More than a dozen states impose at least a two-year ban on lobbying by some or all of its officials. Five states have different cooling-off periods for different types of officials. A number of states, such as California, New Mexico, New York, Mississippi and Texas, impose a permanent ban for working on identical official actions and/or contracts that the government officer was personally and substantially involved in while in public service.

Some states apply revolving door restrictions only to the legislative branch (9 states), some apply the restrictions only to the executive branch (5 states), but most apply the restrictions to both branches of government (29 states). More than half the states (26 states) also apply some form of revolving door restrictions to senior-level government employees. Another 7 states have no revolving door policy at all.

The lobbying restrictions vary in how narrow they are. Most states with restrictions (24 states)  only prohibit former officials and employees from contacting current people and agencies in the government through oral or written communications and appearances (“lobbying contacts”), but allow all other activities such as strategic work behind a lobbying campaign, negotiating contracts and so forth (“lobbying activities”). More than a dozen states have stricter restrictions that ban these lobbying activities to varying degrees.

Prohibition applies to legislative officeholders only (9 states)

Alaska (1-year restriction) [§24-45-121(c)]

Connecticut (1-year restriction) [§§2-16a, 1-84b]

Delaware (1-year restriction) [§ 5837]1

Hawaii (1-year restriction) [§84-18]2

Indiana (1-year restriction) [2-7-5-7]3

Maine (1-year restriction) [§1024]

Maryland (1-year restriction) [§5-504]

Minnesota (1-year restriction) [Minn. H.R. 9.35]4

North Carolina (6-month restriction) [§163A-308]

Prohibition applies to executive officeholders only (5 states)

Arkansas (1-year restriction) [§21-8-102]

Nevada (1-year restriction) [§ 281A.550]5

New Mexico (1-year restriction) [§10-16-8]

Texas (2-year restriction) [§§572.054, 572.069]6

Wisconsin (1-year restriction) [§19.45(8)]

Prohibition applies to both legislative and executive officeholders (29 states)

Alabama (2-year restriction) [§36-25-13]

Arizona (1-year restriction) [§38-504(a)(b)]

California (1-year restriction) [§87406(b)]

Colorado (2-year restriction) [Colorado State Const. Article XXIX, Section 4]

Florida (2-year restriction) [§112.313(9)]7

Georgia (1-year restriction) [§ 21-5-75]

Iowa (2-year restriction) [§§68B.5A, 68B.7]

Kansas (1-year restriction on contract lobbying) [§46-233(b)(c)]

Kentucky (1-year restriction for executive officeholders on particular matters, 2-year restriction for legislative officeholders on lobbying) [§§6.757, 11A.040]

Louisiana (2-year restriction) [§42:1121]

Massachusetts (1-year restriction) [§268A]8

Mississippi (1-year restriction) [§25-4-105(2)(3)(e)]9

Missouri (6-month – 1-year restriction) [§§105.454(5)(6), 105]10

Montana (1-2 year restriction) [§§ 2-2-105(3), 5-7-310]11

New Jersey (1-year restriction) [§ 52:13C-21.4]

New York (2-year restriction) [§73(8)(a)]

North Dakota (2-year restriction) [N.D. Const., Sec. 2]

Ohio (1-year restriction) [§102.03(A)]12

Oregon (through next legislative session – 2-year restriction) [§244.045(6)]13

Pennsylvania (1-year restriction) [§1103(g)]

Rhode Island (1-year restriction) [§36-14-5]

South Carolina (1-year restriction) [§8-13-755]14

South Dakota (2-year restriction) [§2-12-8.2]15

Tennessee (1-year restriction) [§3-6-304 (l)]

Utah (1-year restriction) [§67-24-103]16

Vermont (1-year restriction) [§266]17

Virginia (1-year restriction) [§§2.2-3104, 30-103]

Washington (1-2 year restriction) [§ 42.52.080]18

West Virginia (1-year restriction) [§§6B-2-5(g), 6B-3-2]

Prohibition also applies to staff in a decision-making capacity (26 states)

Alabama (2-year restriction) [§36-25-13]

Arizona (1-year restriction) [§38-504(a)(b)]

Arkansas (1-year restriction) [§21-8-102]

California (1-year restriction) [§87406(b)]

Connecticut (1-year restriction) [§§2-16a, 1-84b]

Florida (2-year restriction) [§112.313(9)]19

Hawaii (1-year restriction) [§84-18]

Iowa (2-year restriction) [§§68B.5A, 68B.7]

Kentucky (1-year restriction for executive official only) [§11A.040]

Louisiana (2-year restriction) [§42:1121]

Massachusetts (1-year restriction) [§268A]20

Mississippi (1-year restriction) [§25-4-105(2)(3)(e)]21

Missouri (6-month – 1-year restriction) [§105.454(5)(6), 105]22

Montana (1-year restriction) [§ 2-2-105(3)]

New Jersey (1-year restriction) [§52:13C-21.4]

New Mexico (1-year restriction) [§10-16-8]

New York (2-year restriction) [§73(8)(a)]

Ohio (1-year restriction) [§102.03(A)]23

Pennsylvania (1-year restriction) [§1103(g)]

South Carolina (1-year restriction) [§8-13-755]24

South Dakota (2-year restriction) [§2-12-8.2]25

Texas (2-year restriction) [§§572.054, 572.069]26

Virginia (1-year restriction) [§2.2-3104, 30-103]

Washington (1-2 year restriction) [§42.52.080]27

West Virginia (1-year restriction) [§6B-2-5(g)]

Wisconsin (1-year restriction for executive official only) [§19.45(8)]

Prohibition against lobbying contacts only (24 states)

Alaska (1-year restriction) [§24-45-121(c)]

Arizona (1-year restriction) [§38-504(a)(b)]

California (1-year restriction) [§87406(b)]

Colorado (2-year restriction) [Colorado State Const. Article XXIX, Section 4]

Delaware (1-year restriction) [§ 5837]

Florida (2-year restriction) [§112.313(9)]28

Georgia (1-year restriction) [§ 21-5-75]

Hawaii (1-year restriction) [§84-18]

Kentucky (1-year restriction for executive officeholders, 2-year restriction for legislative officeholders) [§§6.757, 11A.040]

Maine (1-year restriction) [§1024]

Massachusetts (1-year restriction) [§268A]

Montana (1-2 year restriction) [§ 2-2-105(3), § 5-7-310]29

New Jersey (1-year restriction) [§52:13C-21.4]

North Carolina (6-month restriction) [§163A-308]

Ohio (1-year restriction) [§102.03(A)]

Oregon (through next legislative session – 2-year restriction) [§244.045(6)]30

Pennsylvania (1-year restriction) [§1103(g)]

Rhode Island (1-year restriction) [§36-14-5]

South Carolina (1-year restriction) [§8-13-755]31

South Dakota (2-year restriction) [§2-12-8.2]32

Texas (2-year restriction for former Board Members and Executive Directors) [§§572.054]

Utah (1-year restriction) [§ 67-24-103]33

Virginia (1-year restriction) [§§2.2-3104, 30-103]

West Virginia (1-year restriction for legislative officeholders) [§§6B-3-2, 6B-2-5(g)]

Prohibition against other lobbying activities (13 states)

Alabama (2-year restriction) [§36-25-13] 34

Arkansas (1-year restriction on regulatory matters) [§21-8-102]

Iowa (2-year restriction) [§§68B.5A, 68B.7] 35

Kansas (1-year restriction on contracts issued) [§46-233(b)(c)]

Louisiana (2-year restriction) [§42:1121]

Maryland (1-year restriction) [§15-504]

Mississippi (1-year restriction on new contracts) [§25-4-105(2)(3)(e)]

Missouri (6-month – 1-year restriction) [§105.454(5)(6), 105]36

New Mexico (1-year restriction) [§10-16-8] 37

North Dakota (2-year restriction) [N.D. Const., Sec. 2 “Lobbying and Conflicts of Interest”]

Texas (2-year restriction for former executive officers and employees) [§572.069]

Washington (1-2 year restriction on contracts issued) [§42.52.080]38

Wisconsin (1-year restriction) [§19.45(8)] 39

No revolving door policy (7 states)

Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Wyoming

 

Prepared by Craig Holman and Caralyn Esser, Public Citizen (July 23, 2019)