Rules Committee Rejects Ban on University Employees as Legislators

An ethics bill to prohibit employees of a state college or university from serving in the Legislature was narrowly defeated by the Senate Rules Committee Tuesday.

The bill, SB 1560, would have targeted only those who work in state jobs.

But committee members argued the ban would remove expert knowledge from the Legislature.

The bill, proposed by Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, would also have prohibited legislators from taking a job with a state university or college within two years of leaving office.

Members of the Legislature are already prohibited from lobbying the Legislature for two years after leaving office.

The bill was introduced following several years of media highlights of legislators and their state university and college jobs.

I just think its an area we need to have a conversation about, Thrasher said. Were talking about ethics not just for us, but also the perception of the public.

The most notable was former Rep. Ray Sansom, a Republican from Destin, who was hired by Northwest Florida State College after directing millions in the state budget for the school.

Meanwhile, the Legislature has nine higher-education professors, from Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who is an instructor at the University of Florida, to Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne, a professor at Valencia Community College, and Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, at Tallahassee Community College.