Drew Wilson
Vacation rental company Airbnb pumped another $250,000 into the People versus the Powerful political committee last month.
The committee is chaired by the company’s Southeastern U.S. public policy head, Thomas Martinelli. The December infusion is the first new money received by the committee since April 2017, when Airbnb staked it with $1 million.
The committee spent about $60,000 for the month, including a $10,000 contribution to Jobs for Florida, a political committee tied to Senate President-designate Wilton Simpson.
Other spending included $5,000 checks to the Republican Party of Florida and the political committees of several sitting lawmakers, including Friends of Ray Rodrigues, Advancing Florida Agriculture and Conservatives For Principled Leadership, the affiliated committee Rep. Paul Renner, who is in line to become House Speaker after the 2022 elections.
The Airbnb committee also sent $1,000 contributions to the reelection campaigns of Sens. Lauren Book and Tom Wright, as well as Rep. Chuck Clemons.
The spending spree comes ahead of the 2020 Legislative Session, when lawmakers will again consider bills to create statewide rules for vacation rental platforms. The bills, SB 1128 and HB 1011, are opposed by city and county governments.
People versus the Powerful finished the year with $915,000 in the bank.
