A federal judge’s decision striking down a lobbying law could have consequences for Brevard County’s newest county commissioner, who made his living as a lobbyist until he was appointed to take over a vacant position on the commission this summer.Jason Steele announced that he would be dropping his lobbying work for the cities of Satellite Beach, Cape Canaveral and the town of Indialantic when he took office in July after being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. He is now looking into whether he will be able to resume his work and maintain his position as commissioner after the judge’s decision.
“Now that the courts have once again said I can go back in, I am once again doing a deep dive with the county attorney to determine if this would be appropriate,” Steele said when reached by telephone Friday.“The last thing I want to do is start lobbying again unless it’s on sound legal grounds,” he added.
A U.S. District judge agreed with local officials who said the voter-backed lobbying law violated the First Amendment.
"The In-Office Restrictions are content-based, overbroad restrictions on speech," wrote Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday. In March, the judge issued a preliminary injunction against a restriction.
The prohibition was created through a 2018 constitutional amendment that was passed with 79% voter approval. The Legislature passed a law implementing it last year.
The bill’s architect, Don Gaetz, the former state Senate president who...
In its latest effort to narrow pathways to immigration to the United States, the Trump administration says it will crack down on attorneys who file fraudulent asylum claims for their clients. The ...