A majority of North Carolinians think that former legislators should have a waiting period of two years or more before becoming lobbyists, and a 35% plurality think that they should never be able to join that profession. It's clear that voters in the state don't think the current revolving door laws go far far enough.
Beyond the 35% who don't think legislators should ever be able to work as lobbyists, 20% say the waiting period should be longer than two years, 15% say it should be two years, 12% say it should be one year, 5% say it should be six months, and only 4% think there shouldn't be any waiting period.
Independents are strongest in their feeling that the rules should become stricter with 70% saying the waiting period should be two years or longer compared to 58% of Republicans and 45% of Democrats.
It's unlikely this is an issue that many voters are really fired up about but it's just another sign there's not a lot of trust in the way things currently operate in Raleigh.
Full results here
A permanent absolute ban on lobbying might run into First Amendment challenges, but there definitely needs to be a longer 'cooling off' period. Four years would be a decent span to let old favors expire.
ReplyDelete"...it's just another sign there's not a lot of trust in the way things currently operate in Raleigh"
ReplyDeleteYou might add...especially from the (mostly conservative) independent and Republican voters.
Kinda shows ya who's most friendly to those blood sucking, self serving lobbyists - doesn't it?
Interesting!