A legal challenge could complicate the future of Florida’s voter-approved, six-year lobbying ban, a long planned change that has likely been responsible for an exodus of high-profile public officials ahead of its taking effect on New Year’s Eve.
In the federal lawsuit, five elected officials in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Leon counties are seeking to block the new lobbying restrictions, which are expected to be the toughest in the country.
The new measures prohibit elected officials in the state from working as lobbyists while holding public office, and bar state and local elected officials from lobbying their state agencies or offices for six years after leaving office. Currently, there is a two-year lobbying ban. The law also applies to some holders of appointed rather than elected positions.
