Ex-lawmaker quickly changes into lobbyist

BOISE – Three months after a prominent lawmaker’s defeat in November, a California property developer hired her to lobby for a bill aimed at luring outdoor retailer Cabela’s Inc. to North Idaho. The move came at the recommendation of new House Speaker Lawerence Denney, who said the developer should dump its existing lobbyist, who had supported Denney’s rival.

The bill, which died in committee last year, passed both the House and Senate and awaits Gov. Butch Otter’s signature.

Former Rep. Julie Ellsworth, R-Boise and GOP caucus chairwoman until Democrat Phylis King beat her, has been paid by California developer Foursquare Properties Inc. since February.

Its project in Post Falls will likely be home to Cabela’s.

Foursquare hired Ellsworth, who had served five terms in the Legislature, after Denney, R-Midvale, suggested she’d be better than Jerry Deckard.

Deckard had backed Rep. Bill Deal, R-Nampa, in his unsuccessful race in December against Denney to be House speaker. After he beat Deal, Denney said he indicated to North Idaho lawmakers who backed the Foursquare bill it would fare more favorably with a new lobbyist.

“I suggested a number of names, as well as Julie’s,” Denney said.

Deckard severed his ties to Foursquare on Feb. 12, according to secretary of state records. Ellsworth replaced him eight days later. Foursquare didn’t return phone calls. Deckard didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Unlike at least 26 states, Idaho has no “revolving door” rule forcing ex-lawmakers to wait as long as two years before lobbying ex-colleagues. Statehouse lobbying across America is a billion-dollar business, so companies such as Foursquare often look for well-connected insiders.

“I have been viewed by many entities as a potentially effective lobbyist because of my ability to work with people up there,” Ellsworth said. “I’m a hard worker. I roll up my sleeves.”

Last year, Foursquare’s bill – in which the developer would pay for a freeway interchange on U.S. Interstate 90 for shoppers, then recoup the cost from sales taxes generated by the stores – died in committee.

This year, under Ellsworth’s guidance, a new version cleared the House 68-1 and Tuesday passed the Senate 24-10.

Foes call it “the Cabela’s bill,” and argue that it amounts to a tax giveaway to an out-of-state corporation. “Why should those guys get a big break, when my little guys have to pay all the costs?” said Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow.

Ellsworth and others, meanwhile, said it’s needed at a time when the state Transportation Department is strapped for cash. It pays for more than turn lanes, said Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls and a sponsor.

“Without the major interchange, you have no project,” Hammond said.

Ellsworth isn’t the only state-government insider to leave the Capitol, then immediately return as a lobbyist.

At least seven people who were lawmakers or aides to former Govs. Dirk Kempthorne and Jim Risch last year are now lobbyists, including former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley.

In November, Montana prohibited former state legislators and other officials from becoming lobbyists within two years of leaving state government. New Jersey added restrictions, as did Georgia and Tennessee.

“It’s sort a fairly straightforward nod to provide some confidence to the public that legislators aren’t in public office for private gain,” said Leah Rush, of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity, which tracks state lobbying. “When it all intertwines, that’s when the public gets cynical about its government.”

In the wake of the Jack Abramoff federal lobbying scandal, Idaho lawmakers in 2006 revamped state lobbying laws for the first time since 1974. Those changes require lobbyists who try to sway officials in the governor’s office and other executive-branch officials to register with the state.

But Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise and a sponsor, said revolving-door restrictions went nowhere.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask that there be a cooling-off period,” Kelly said.

At least 1,300 ex-state legislators across America work as lobbyists, including at least 20 in Idaho, Rush said.