The House Ways & Means Committee has voted unanimously to introduce legislation to ban former legislators from working as paid lobbyists for one year – with House Speaker Lawerence Denney as a co-sponsor along with House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet. “This is one of the basic tenets of democracy – our constituents want to trust us, and one of the things they ask for is tougher ethics laws,” Jaquet told the committee. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, made the motion to introduce the bill, which is being referred to the House State Affairs Committee for a hearing.

A few minutes before the vote, Denney, sitting on the House floor, said, “In this game that we play, perception is everything, and it’s more perception than reality. I’m still not 100 percent sure that it’s necessary, but perception is reality and the perception is that it’s necessary.”

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