Guest Author
Larry J. Overton & Associates landed $2.89 million in lobbying fees last year, state figures showed.
The firm had a total of 81 contracts in 2019. Among those were 38 clients that hired the firm for legislative lobbying work which amounted to $1.86 million in revenues.
There were also 43 clients who contracted with Overton for executive lobbying services. Those contracts added up to $1.03 million in lobbying fees paid to the firm last year.
Lobbying firms report their pay in ranges covering $10,000 increments. If all of Larry J. Overton & Associates’ clients paid top dollar, they would have earned $2.89 million last year. Median estimates show the firm earned $1.88 million — 1.36 million in the Legislature and $515,000 in the executive.
Overton’s top client on the legislative lobbying side of the ledger was Anthem. The organization paid the firm $150,000 in 2019. Anthem is a health care business headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., that is a wing of the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Association.
Anthem was followed in spending at the Overton firm by MorseLife, MEDNAX Services and Hope Hospice and Community Services. Each of those organizations paid Overton $120,000 in 2019.
Nine other organizations paid Overton $80,000 each for legislative lobbying work last year. Some of the notables in that group included the University of Miami, Shands Teaching Hospitals & Clinics and Catholic Health Services, among others.
Another eight organizations paid Overton $40,000 for legislative lobbying services in 2019. The South Broward Hospital District paid $10,000 to Overton & Associates for those services last year. The majority of the clients who contracted with Overton & Associates in the past year were linked to the health care industry. Most were in the state of Florida and ranged from statewide groups to specific local municipal organizations and quasi-government groups.
On the executive services side, Overton had 19 clients tying for the top spot in 2019, all at the $40,000 level. The firm had many of the same clients contracting with them for executive work as they did for legislative lobbying services.
Overton & Associates kept their list of lobbyists slim in the past year and they all provided both legislative and executive work. The Overton team: Larry Overton, Joel Overton and James Card.
When lobbyists and their firms sign lobbying agreements with each client, they are required to report all earnings with the state.
