by Tom Loftus, @TomLoftus_CJ –
(Photo: Ingram Publishing, Getty Images/Ingram Publishing)
Through the first four months of 2016 many of Frankfort’s top lobbyists have already made much more money in lobbying fees than the $140,000 salary that Gov. Matt Bevin will make for the whole year.
The nearly 700 corporations and associations that lobby the General Assembly are required to report exactly how much they pay each lobbyist they retain. These reports are filed monthly during legislative sessions with the Legislative Ethics Commission.
Recently, these groups reported their lobbying fees and expenses for the month of April. Listed below (according to the commission’s website right now) are the total in fees paid to particular lobbyists by their many clients for the 2016 legislative session – Jan. 1 through April 30.
Each of the following lobbyists has many clients. Listed with each name is the total in reported fees paid by those clients this year through April 30, the number of clients he or she works for, and a sampling of their clients.
Bob Babbage, $324,754
30 clients including Time Warner Cable, Cash Express, Kentucky Community and Technical College systems
Sean Cutter, $281,792
52 clients including Houchens Industries, Citigroup Washington, AmeriHealth-Caritas
John McCarthy, $274,112
52 clients including Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Power Company, Kentucky Optometric Assn.
Patrick Jennings, $256,524
29 clients including AT&T, Consumer Healthcare Products Assn., Swedish Match
Ronny Pryor, $235,800
13 clients including Kentucky Hospital Assn., LifePoint Hospitals, Hospital Corporation of America
Karen Thomas-Lentz, $231,529
28 clients including Fresenius Medical Care, Swisher International, Hewlett-Packard
Chris Nolan, $215,763
44 clients including EQT Corp., Citigroup Washington, Kentucky State University
Ellen Williams, $213,528
46 clients including Houchens Industries, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky Assn. of Counties
John Cooper, $183,623
25 clients including Kentucky Bankers Assn., Kentucky Medical Assn., Toyota.
Kelley Abell, $177,764
21 clients including Res-Care, Kentucky Assn. of Adult Day Centers, Rave Mobile Safety
Leigh Thacker, $158,444
35 clients including Universal Health Services, Outdoor Advertising Assn., Kentucky Press Assn.
Marc Wilson, $156,616
29 clients including Check Into Cash, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Biotechnology Innovation Organization.
John Y. Brown III, $145,000
27 clients including SAS Institute, Xerox, SAP Public Services
Kevin Payton, $143,716
31 clients including Fidelity Investments, Outdoor Advertising Assn., Universal Health Services
Laura Owens, $141,350
26 clients including Insurance Auto Auction, Uber, Cumberland River Comp Care
Gene McLean, $119,916
12 clients including Kentucky Beer Wholesalers, Kentucky Hospital Assn., Churchill Downs
David Whitehouse, $115,466
6 clients including Ascential Care Partners, Accenture, Bluegrass New Directions
Jitter Allen, $114,310
8 clients including Altria (Philip Morris USA), Kentucky Cable Telecommunications Assn., Purdue Pharma
Jason P. Underwood, $110,500
5 clients including Buffalo Trace Distillery, Delaware North, Kentucky Smokefree Assn.
Dustin Miller, $106,803
26 clients including Lancaster Bingo, Fiserv Solutions, Kentucky Assn. of Electric Cooperatives.
Source: Legislative Ethics Commission
