Representative Jack Harper’s Full Employment for Ex-Legislators Bill

Posted by Michael Bryan

Apparently, Jack Harper is preparing for major losses by the GOP in the Arizona House and Senate next year. He told The Arizona Guardian that he is running a bill to repeal the one year ban on former legislators lobbying their colleagues, not because he was setting himself up to return immediately as a lobbyist, but because he wants any defeated GOP caucus members to have as many employment choices as possible. I guess those new competitive districts drawn up by the Independent Redistricting Commission have some incumbents a bit concerned that they could soon be looking for a job.

Well, that's mighty kind of Rep. Harper to look out for his buddies like that. Of course, it might not be what's best for the public interest, but that apparently is less important than making sure that defeated legislators have a soft landing. After all, times are tough out there.

Nice to see Jack showing his nurturing side – at least to his cronies. He certainly didn't demonstrate such concern for those facing hard times when he voted to strip regular folks of their safety nets with the GOP's draconian budgets over the past few years.

Jack has also introduced legislation to increase the salary of state-wide officials, including the Secretary of State job he wants. So, at least in that case, his legislation would directly benefit his own personal bottom line. Of course, it is always possible that Jack won't grab that Secretary of State dream job he longs for. In which case, he might be seeking a lobbyist gig – and it would be a shame if he had to sit out of the influence pedaling game for a whole year…