Guest Author
Johnson & Blanton racked up an estimated $5.35 million in lobbying fees last year, an increase of $400,000 over 2018 revenues.
The firm had a total of 182 lobbying contracts in 2019, evenly split across their legislative and executive reports. The firm managed to bring in $3.39 million in legislative lobbying fees, while executive lobbying fees amounted to $1.96 million.
Lobbying firms report their pay in ranges covering $10,000 increments. Florida Politics uses the middle number of each range to estimate total revenue last year.
On the legislative lobbying side, AdventHealth and the Florida Hospital Association topped Johnson & Blanton’s ledger. Each paid the firm $140,000 in 2019.
The Florida Hospital Association is a Tallahassee-based advocacy group that seeks to improve conditions for the Sunshine State’s 285,000 health care professionals employed by hospitals.
AdventHealth is a nonprofit and faith-based health care system headquartered in Altamonte Springs. Previously known as Adventist Health System, the organization rebranded last year.
Other health care organizations dominate the Johnson & Blanton list of legislative lobbying clients, though the industry is not universal for the firm. Other notable clients include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Airports Council, Bank of America and Florida Power & Light along with several municipal entities.
On the executive lobbying side, Johnson & Blanton’s most lucrative client was The GEO Group. That company paid the firm $100,000 for executive lobbying work last year.
The GEO Group is based in Boca Raton and specializes in privatized corrections facilities and mental health treatment centers. The company has a global presence but also maintains a notable profile in Florida.
Another eight organizations paid Johnson & Blanton $60,000 apiece for executive and legislative work.
Many of Johnson & Blanton’s clients on the executive lobbying list match the legislative side.
The 2019 roster for Team JB: Jon Johnson, Travis Blanton, Darrick McGhee, Georgia McKeown and Eric Prutsman. Melanie Brown also pitched for a quarter.
When lobbyists and their firms sign lobbying agreements with each client, they are required to report all earnings with the state.
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.
