Ryan Ray
The two-man team at Louis Betz & Associates hauled in an estimated $110,000 in compensation for their work during the second quarter of 2015, according to recently release state lobbying records.
The lion’s share of the fees — all from work within the Legislature, as opposed to executive branch lobbying — came from four major clients: American Traffic Solutions, Epperson Ranch, Tampa Taxi Coalition and Waste Management Inc. of Florida each employed the firm’s services to the tune of up to $19,999, for an estimated combined total of $75,000.
One common thread throughout Betz’ client list is the large number of Tampa Bay-area clients; of the 24 businesses and organizations who sought representation by the firm, 20 were headquartered in the region.
Betz also partnered with fellow Tampa Bay power players at Corcoran & Johnston, based in Lutz in the north Tampa suburbs, in their mutual representation of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, one of the largest transportation entities in the state.
MOSI — the Museum of Science & Industry — Mindshare Technologies, Covanta Energy, Link-Systems Internation and the City of Temple Terrace also used Betz to amplify their voices in Tallahassee last quarter, which ran from April until the end of June. Those firms contributed up to $9,999 each to the Betz & Associated coffers, for an estimated total of some $25,000.
Lobbying firms are required by Florida statute to file quarterly compensation reports. In most cases, they are allowed to simply report a range — e.g. $10,000 to $19,999 — rather than the specific amount.
