Nearly $40 million spent to sway Florida lawmakers’ minds in first 3 months of 2019

Lobbying the Legislature is big business. During the first three months of the year, companies, local governments and other clients paid an estimated $37.4 million to lobbying firms for legislative work, according to state numbers.

Lobbying firms are required to file quarterly reports that offer a picture of how much they get paid. The numbers aren’t exact because firms largely report their income in ranges, though specific information is available about payments of $50,000 or more.

Firms faced a deadline this month to file reports about their compensation from January through March, a period that included most of the first half of the annual legislative session. Here are the firms that pulled in the most money for legislative lobbying during the quarter and a list of large payments from clients:

COMPANIES MAKING PAYMENTS OF $50,000 OR MORE TO LOBBYING FIRMS:

—- Amscot Financial, Inc.: $51,000 paid to Metz Husband & Daughton PA.

—- AshBritt: $135,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- Auto Tag Management Group: $89,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- Automated Healthcare Solutions: $50,000 paid to Ballard Partners.

—- Charter Schools USA: $65,000 paid to Tripp Scott PA.

—- Citizens for Responsible Pet Ownership: $75,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- FCCI Insurance Group: $50,000 paid to Leath Consulting.

—- Florida Municipal Broadband Alliance: $60,000 paid to Peebles, Smith & Matthews, Inc.

—- Fontainebleau Florida Hotel, LLC: $63,000 paid to Corcoran & Johnston.

—- HCA Healthcare: $56,000 paid to Rubin, Turnbull & Associates.

—- K.A.S. & Associates, Inc.: $200,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- Miami Project/Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis: $55,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- MorseLife: $50,000 paid to Floridian Partners LLC.

—- Performance Title Services: $130,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- Polaris: $60,000 paid to Southern Strategy Group.

—- Seminole Tribe of Florida: $55,000 paid to Greenberg Traurig PA.

—- Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Inc.: $84,000 paid to Ballard Partners.

—- Small County Coalition: $165,000 paid to Robert P. Jones & Associates.

—- State Farm Florida Insurance Co: $50,000 paid to Tripp Scott PA.

—- Sunfest Herbs LLC: $50,000 paid to Ballard Partners.

—- The SEED Foundation, Inc.: $61,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- The Vestcor Companies, Inc.: $69,000 paid to Southern Strategy Group.

—- Title Clerk Consulting Company, LLC: $160,000 paid to Ronald L. Book PA.

—- U.S. Stem Cell, Inc.: $90,000 paid to Rubin, Turnbull & Associates.

LOBBYING FIRMS REPORTING COMPENSATION OF $1 MILLION OR MORE:

—- Ballard Partners

—- Capital City Consulting LLC

—- GrayRobinson PA

—- Greenberg Traurig PA

—- Ronald L. Book PA

—- Rubin, Turnbull & Associates

—- Southern Strategy Group

LOBBYING FIRMS REPORTING COMPENSATION OF $500,000 TO $999,999:

—- Becker & Poliakoff PA

—- Corcoran & Johnston

—- Floridian Partners LLC

—- Johnson & Blanton

—- Metz Husband & Daughton PA

—- Smith Bryan & Myers Inc.

—- The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners LLC

—- The Mayernick Group LLC

FIRMS REPORTING COMPENSATION OF $250,000 TO $499,999:

—- Anfield Consulting

—- Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

—- Colodny Fass

—- Dean Mead

—- Gunster Yoakley & Stewart PA

—- Heffley & Associates

—- Holland & Knight LLP

—- Hopping Green & Sams PA

—- Larry J. Overton & Associates Inc.

—- McGuireWoods Consulting LLC

—- Peebles, Smith & Matthews, Inc.

—- Pittman Law Group PL

—- PooleMcKinley

—- Ramba Consulting Group LLC

—- RutledgeEcenia PA

—- The Fiorentino Group

—- The Legis Group

SOURCE: Florida lobbyist registration and compensation website.

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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2019.