Jim Rosica
Even as some lawmakers have questioned its necessity, legislative and executive branch lobbying firms were again randomly selected Wednesday for audits of their compensation reports.
The firms picked for legislative lobbying audits are:
— Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
— Buigas & Associates
— David R. Custin & Associates
— Ericks Consultants
— Hopping Green & Sams
— Lewis Longman & Walker
— Lisa Aaron Consulting
— Luis E. Rojas
— McGee & Mason
— Redfish Consulting
— Ronald R. Richmond
— Shumaker Loop & Kendrick
— Smith & Smith
— The Labrador Co.
The alternates are:
— Barlow Consulting
— Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig
— Capitol Hill Group
— Damon Smith Consulting
— Dixie Sansom Consulting
— Littlejohn Mann & Associates
— Pruitt & Associates
— Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer
— R. Dale Patchett Managemen
— Shutts & Bowen
— Southern Campaign Resources
— Strategos Public Affairs
— Sunrise Consulting Group
— Uhlfelder and Associates
The firms picked for executive-branch lobbying audits are:
— Andrew J. Liles
— Calhoun Management & Consulting
— Capitol Insight
— Carr Allison
— Champion Consultants
— Janet Llewellyn
— Lester Abberger
— Lindstrom Consulting
— Pruitt & Associates
— T.B. Consultants
— TC Wolfe
— Wilson & Associates
The alternates are:
— Capitol Energy Florida
— Foley & Lardner
— Horton & Associates
— Impact GR
— Jordan Connors Group
— Law Office of Cynthia G. Angelos
— Cusick and Associates
— Punyko Associates
— R. Bruce Kershner Co.
— Rachael Ondrus
— Richard S. Kip
— The Peeples Group
The last round of audits, required under a 2005 state law and released in September 2015, found discrepancies big and small after staff randomly picked 26 lobbying firms to be audited.
Auditors discovered a number of firms either underreporting or overreporting the money they made in 2014. In another case, auditors couldn’t tell who had paid a particular bill.
But generally, lobbying firms were annoyed at having to undergo auditing and lawmakers were underwhelmed.
“I don’t understand how the public’s interest is advanced by this exercise,” said state Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who formerly sat on the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee.
“I just don’t see how this information is relevant” other than being a “marketing tool for big lobbying firms,” Bradley said in late 2015.
Legislation was actually filed for the 2016 Legislative Session that would have repealed the audit requirement, but it died in both chambers.
The latest audits are scheduled to begin May.
