House Bill 116 is a bipartisan bill that seeks to limit or curtail the appearance of conflicts of interest on the part of our elected officials in the General Assembly by restricting for one year the state jobs that he or she may take after they leave the General Assembly.
This bill prohibits a former member of the General Assembly from being appointed to or employed in a position in a State agency for 1 year after the former member’s final term of office if either of the following applies: (1) The position was created during the former member’s final term of office. (2) The compensation for the position was increased, other than by an appropriation by the General Assembly that applies to all similarly situated State employees, during the former member’s term of office and the former member did not hold the position during the former member’s term of office.
A former member who knowingly or wilfully violates this Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punished by imprisonment of not more than 1 year and by a fine not to exceed $10,000.
So bascially, this law would prohibit a retiring member from feathering their retirement nest by creating a new job in a state agency for them or increasing the compensation an already existing job would pay when they take the position. This is a good government law, and we have seen plenty of past and current examples of this abuse that make this law necessary.
| House Bill 116 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Bennett, Wilson-Anton, Baumbach, Briggs King, Bush, Collins, M.Smith, K.Williams, Yearick | ||
| Lockman, Sokola, Wilson | ||
| Current Status — House Administration 3/16/21 |
It is only a good law until one reads it. A retiring legislator cannot, for one year, take a state job that was “created for them” or where the general assembly increased that job’s compensation. That bill may effect a legislator every decade, but a much more needed bill is one that prohibits a state legislator from taking a state job during that legislator’s term in office, or one year after leaving that office.