Missouri Nonprofit Wins Free Speech Challenge to Lobbying law

A Missouri law mandating that people who attempt to influence legislative activities register as lobbyists is unconstitutional as applied to the head of a nonprofit organization that doesn’t raise or spend money on political issues, a divided Eighth Circuit ruled Nov. 1.

Ronald Calzone frequently meets with state lawmakers and testifies before the general assembly about political issues that are important to him. Calzone often acts through a nonprofit corporation called Missouri First, Inc., of which he’s the president and sole officer. Missouri First spends and receives no money in pursuit of its stated goals of educating and mobilizing the ...