Bill to prevent former lawmakers, aides from lobbying for 1 year after leaving office dies



OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A measure to bar state elected officials and their top aides from lobbying state government for a year after leaving their jobs has died in the House.

The Seattle Times reported Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1D79IX9 ) that the prime sponsor of the bill said there was not enough support to bring it to a chamber vote prior to Wednesday's deadline for policy bills.

Rep. Reuven Carlyle, a Democrat from Seattle who sponsored the measure, said he'd heard concerns from some legislators that the bill would overly restrict their employment options after leaving public service.

The bill would have applied the one-year cooling-off period to all statewide elected officials, legislators and directors of cabinet-level agencies. It would also cover top staff of the governor, attorney general and other statewide elected officials, as well as senior legislative staff.