GOP lawmakers irked by MoDOT employees lobbying them.

Approximately 20 Missouri Department of Transportation employees were in the state Capitol today on taxpayer time lobbying lawmakers to pass a tougher seat belt enforcement law.

MoDOT Director Pete Rahn has been pushing for a primary seat belt law where a police officer could stop and ticket a driver if any passenger is not wearing a seat belt.

MoDOT said it sent 20 employees and 100 volunteer "highway safety advocates" to the Capitol to hold a rally and pressure legislators. The state agency coordinated the lobbying effort.

Republican House members Shane Schoeller of Willard and Brian Yates of Lee's Summit were irked by the fact the MoDOT employees were being paid by the state to lobby them.

Schoeller and Yates took MoDOT to task in a late afternoon press release.

"I wish these employees were working on making Missouri’s roads better rather than lobbying legislators on a policy issue on state time," Yates said in a statement.

In an interview, Schoeller said he found the lobbying effort to be "completely inappropriate."

“To have average or regular employees that are there to advocate policy positions I think is completely inappropriate,” Schoeller told the News-Leader.

Every department in state government has at least one legislative liaison who is a registered lobbyist with the Missouri Ethics Commission. They regularly appear before House and Senate committees to testify and lobby lawmakers for individual agency budgets.

Schoeller also said he fears bureaucrats could use employees as weapons against lawmakers if MoDOT's practice is to become acceptable.

“Where do you drawn the line at? What if the department director says you’re going to advocate for this, even if you diagree with it? They might be fearful that they would lose their job," Schoeller said.

In a statement, Rahn defended the lobbying practice and said it's part of his employees' jobs.

"I strongly believe it is the responsibility of the Missouri Department of Transportation and its employees to advocate for transportation issues and efforts that will save lives on our highways. It is part of our job," Rahn said.

Rahn said a primary seat belt law could save 90 lives a year and draw down $20 million a year in federal transportation funding. The federal government requires a primary seat belt law to be on a state's books in order to get the money.

Rahn has been personally advocating for the law since 2005.

"If legislators had passed a law allowing for our current safety belt law to be strengthened four years ago when I first asked, 360 more people would be alive today. That is not just a number. That is 360 mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who would still be with their families who are not today," Rahn said in a written statement.

Schoeller said what makes MoDOT's lobbying even more frustrating is the fact the legislature has no direct governance over its budget or programs.

MoDOT is governed by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, which is independent of the legislature, though the governor appoints its members with consent from the Senate.

Schoeller said Rahn should let a privately-funded organization take up his department's cause and run its lobbying effort separate from the state agency. This is common practice for social service and welfare advocates.

Schoeller said allowing average MoDOT employees to lobby the legislature — unregistered — opens the door for “taxpayers dollars being used to advocate against" the wishes of taxpayers on other issues.

“Regardless of the department, I just don’t think it’s appropriate,” he said.