The senate’s debate on Sen. Charlie Sheilds' (R-St. Joseph) ethics bill (SB577) has been bogged down in recent days with Sen. Jason Crowell's (R-Cape Girardeau) proposal to create a two-year waiting period for retiring legislators before they can become lobbyists after they leave office.
Sen. John Griesheimer (R-Washington) says Crowell is aiming for him. EMissourian.com:
This all goes back to the (former House Speaker Rod) Jetton deal. Just like last year. This was aimed at me. It's personal, no doubt about it. He knows I want to be a lobbyist. He even talked about Jetton on the floor during the debate. I had a feeling Jason was going to come after me. But somebody's going to have to show me where this has been a problem in the past before I can support the amendment.
I don't know exactly why Griesheimer or Crowell aren't the best of friends. But slowing down the movement from an official office to a lobbying office is a good idea. Griesheimer's statement that he's been openly aiming to land a lobbyist gig for several years is troubling.
