Gambling, Telecom bolster lobbying bottom line
By JIM SAUNDERS
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, May 17, 2012........The 2012 legislative session was a good time for lobbyists to know about the rapidly changing telecommunications industry or to hook up with a casino company.
That much is obvious from newly filed lobbyist-compensation reports. But it also was a good time to be fluent in issues ranging from optometry to workers-compensation insurance.
The reports, which were due Tuesday and detail spending during the first three months of 2012, show that 16 lobbying firms collected more than $500,000 in fees --- with four topping $1 million. But they also offer a window into the big-money issues that attracted businesses and industries.
Other than the state budget and redistricting, perhaps no other issue drew as much attention during the session as an unsuccessful proposal to allow up to three resort casinos in Florida. And no participant in the debate drew more attention than the Malaysian conglomerate Genting, which wants to build a massive casino development in Miami.
Firms related to Genting paid at least $380,000 to 15 lobbying shops, including $75,000 to Foley & Lardner LLP and $75,000 to Western Hemisphere Strategies LLC, according to the reports. The exact totals are not available because payments below $50,000 are reported in ranges --- as an example, two lobbying groups reported receiving between $40,000 and $49,999 from the Genting-related firms.
Another player in the casino debate, Las Vegas Sands Corp, spent at least $85,000 on lobbyists. The biggest chunk of that total, $55,000, went to Capital City Consulting LLC, which employs Nick Iarossi, who spearheaded Las Vegas Sands' efforts.
Lobbyists also scooped up tens of thousands of dollars from other parts of the gambling industry, including pari-mutuel facilities scattered throughout the state. Those facilities were heavily involved in the resort-casino debate, which spawned issues such as whether expanded forms of gambling should be allowed.
Less visible than the gambling fight, the telecommunications giant AT&T successfully pushed through a complex bill that made changes in the state's communications-services tax. AT&T appears to have been the largest spender on lobbyists during the first quarter, paying more than $1 million to 30 firms --- and funneling $50,000 or more to nine firms.
In the utility industry, Florida Power & Light spent at least $160,000 during the first quarter, while Pensacola-based Gulf Power Co. spent at least $130,000.
But the reports also show heavy spending by some lesser-known groups or companies that had high-profile issues during this year's legislative session. As an example, the Florida Optometric Association and another optometry group, the Florida Optometry Eye Health Fund, spent at least $146,000 on lobbyists as they unsuccessfully sought to pass a bill that would expand the drug-prescribing powers of optometrists.
Similarly, a drug-related issue in the workers-compensation industry also caused heavy lobbying. Business groups and insurers unsuccessfully backed a bill that would have limited the amount of money that doctors can charge for drugs they dispense to workers-compensation patients.
Automated HealthCare Solutions, a firm that provides dispensing technology to physicians, and a related company spent at least $177,000 on lobbying, according to the records.
Business groups and the insurance industry also shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby on such issues. For example, Sarasota-based FCCI Insurance Group, which sells workers-compensation and other types of insurance, spent at least $260,000 on lobbyists during the first three months of the year.
While large spenders typically hire multiple lobbying firms, the reports show that they also frequently rely on the lobbyists who hauled in the most money during the first quarter.
The firms that topped $1 million in fees were Ballard Partners, GrayRobinson, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group.
Just below them, a dozen firms reported receiving between $500,000 and $999,999 in fees. They were: The Advocacy Group of Cardenas Partners; Capital City Consulting; Corcoran & Johnston; Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate: Dutko Worldwide; Floridian Partners; Johnson & Blanton; Foley & Lardner; Fowler White Boggs; Smith, Bryan & Myers; The Rubin Group; and Tsamoutales Strategies.
