Lobbying Firms Pull In Cash As Year Ends
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TALLAHASSEE (NSF) – Lobbying firms collected more than $30 million during the final three months of 2015 for their legislative work --- and topped $130 million for the year, according to estimates posted online Monday.
The payments to lobbyists from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 came as the Capitol prepared for an unusually early 2016 legislative session, which started Jan. 12.
A report posted on a state website Monday --- a day after lobbying firms were required to file compensation reports --- estimated that lobbyists were paid $30.9 million for fourth-quarter legislative work. That compared with an estimated $28.15 million during the same time period in 2014.
Similarly, a cumulative estimate for all of 2015 totaled nearly $131.5 million, up almost $12 million from a similar estimate in 2014, according to the reports.
Lobbying firms are required each quarter to file reports that give a picture of how much they were paid by clients. But in most cases, the exact amounts paid to firms are unknown because the reports list compensation in ranges, with the estimates based on the midpoint in each range. For example, a firm could report receiving $10,000 to $19,999 from a client, with the estimate at $15,000.
But this much is clear: Four firms --- Ballard Partners, Capital City Consulting, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group --- each reported getting paid at least $1 million during the fourth quarter for their legislative work.
Another 10 firms reported getting paid between $500,000 and $999,999, and 15 firms reported getting paid between $250,000 and $500,000. Hundreds of other lobbyists and firms reported earning smaller amounts.
Some of the firms that pulled in the most money got large chunks from clients in industries such as gambling, sugar and health care.
For instance, the firm Greenberg Traurig, which reported an overall total of $500,000 to $999,999 for the quarter, was paid $69,000 by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The tribe negotiated a proposed $3 billion gambling deal with Gov. Rick Scott's administration late last year but still needs legislative approval.
As another example, the firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, which reported an overall total of $500,000 to $999,999, was paid $63,000 by United States Sugar Corp. The sugar company, which also paid $50,000 to Ballard Partners, is always a major player in Tallahassee, and lawmakers this session have taken up water-policy and funding issues that affect agricultural lands in the southern part of the state.
Among the large payments in the health-care industry, the lobbying firm The Rubin Group reported receiving $56,000 from HCA, which operates hospitals throughout the state. Overall, The Rubin Group reported earning $500,000 to $999,999 during the quarter.
The News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders contributed to this report.