Ryan Ray
Relatively new on the scene, former House Speaker Dean Cannon‘s lobby shop Capitol Insight is raking in the consulting fees like an old Adams Street institution.
According to a compensation report the firm filed Thursday morning, the firm collected an estimated $860,000 for its consulting services between April 1 and June 30.
The total includes about $430,000 in fees from 62 executive lobbying clients and $430,000 from 61 legislative clients.
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. provided the largest invoice for executive branch services, paying between $30,000 and $39,999 in Q2 lobbying fees, as well as between $10,000 and $19,999 for legislative lobbying.
Miami-based health provider AvMed and the Florida Association of Insurance Agents wrote checks for an estimated $25,000 each for legislative influence work.
All told AvMed was responsible for an estimated $50,000 footprint on Capitol Insight’s ledger last quarter. FAIA was good for about $40,000.
Hospital megachain HCA and business consulting firm Faneuil both contributed between $20,000 and $29,999 for executive lobbying services. HCA also gave the firm the same amount for legislative work.
Other major clients included PepsiCo, Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts, Cox Media Group and the City of Orlando.
Capitol Insight’s lobbying team includes not one but two former speakers of the Florida House: Larry Cretul works for the firm as do Kirk Pepper, Cynthia Lorenzo, Rheb Harbison, and Richard Reeves.
Cannon’s solo shop, Dean Cannon PA, also pulled down a substantial haul last quarter: the firm collected an estimated $70,000 during Q2, including between $30,000 and $39,999 from Wharton Investment Group in Boca Raton.
State law requires lobbying firms to submit compensation reports quarterly. They are permitted in most cases to simply report an approximate range of client compensation — e.g. $1 – $9,999 — instead of the specific dollar amount.
