Drew Wilson
The five-person team at Lewis Longman & Walker collected an estimated $1.15 million in lobbying fees last year, compensation reports show.
Lori Killinger, Natalie Kato, Terry Lewis, James Linn and Martin Lyon listed more than two dozen clients in 2019, earning an estimated $605,000 representing them in the Legislature and $550,000 more lobbying the Governor and Cabinet.
Lobbying firms report their pay in ranges covering $10,000 increments. Florida Politics uses the middle number of each range to estimate overall pay.
If Lewis Longman & Walker’s contracts trended toward the top end of their reported ranges, the firm could have earned as much as $1.8 million. At minimum, the firm received $800,000 for its efforts last year.
There was a five-way tie for the top paying client across their legislative compensation reports. The Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists, Florida Association of Special Districts, Florida Manufactured Housing Association, Minto Communities, Seminole Improvement District chipped in $60,000 apiece.
The Florida Association of Special Districts edged them in executive pay, however. It paid $70,000 last year, while the other four held at the $60,000 level.
Lewis Longman & Walker’s client sheet includes some familiar clients, such as vacation rental company Airbnb and gas station chain RaceTrac, as well as a handful of local government interests, such as St. Lucie County and the City of Fort Pierce.
Another major contributor was the Florida Association of Mitigation Bankers, which last year benefited from the passage of a bill allowing developers to buy land owned by a local government for conservation purposes. The association paid $65,000 to retain Lewis Longman & Walker.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a Feb. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. Compensation reports for the first quarter of 2020 are due to the state in mid-April.
