Legislator, lobbyist: a delicate dance

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Laura Smitherman, Sun Reporter
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
Maryland lawmaker Heather R. Mizeur shepherded a bill through the General Assembly this year to establish a new fund supporting the emerging field of nanobiotechnology. In the process, she also succeeded in securing a potential funding source for companies she had registered to represent on Capitol Hill.The Montgomery County Democratic delegate acknowledges working extensively for a nanobiotechnology company as a congressional lobbyist with the Washington law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, but she says she got clearance from the state legislature's ethics counsel to sponsor and vote on the legislation.That company ended its contract with the law firm around the time she introduced the bill. On matters related to other companies, she says she gave "generic advice" to colleagues and was listed as a lobbyist out of an abundance of caution. Read More »