Drew Dixon
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney managed to maintain most of its revenue and clients in the face of the coronavirus outbreak in Q2, according to new compensation reports.
The firm’s senior principal, Mac Stipanovich and another five lobbyists managed a combined 79 contracts across legislative and executive branch work between April 1 and June 30. Those contracts added up an estimated $410,000 in revenue in the second quarter. A majority of those earnings were on the legislative side of the ledger.
Florida lobbyists report their earnings from each of their principals in ranges covering $10,000 increments up to $50,000, after which a firm must report the exact amount they received. Florida Politics uses the middle number of each range to estimate pay.
Compensation reports also list overall compensation ranges for the quarter. That line of the report shows Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney earned at least $350,000 last quarter and may have earned up to $640,000.
Using median estimates, the firm earned $265,000 in the Legislature and $145,000 in the executive.
Though the total quarterly take is slightly down year over year, the 2019 Legislative Session was mostly in the second quarter while this year’s Legislative Session fell entirely within Q1.
The firm’s biggest contract was with the University Medical Service Association Inc., which paid the firm about $35,000 for legislative lobbying services in the second quarter.
The next single-biggest contract for the firm was with the Florida League of Cities. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney raked in another $25,000 from that organization for legislative lobbying.
The Tallahassee-based firm had another 10 legislative clients that paid about $15,000 for legislative work. Many of those clients were in the health care industry, but a couple of others were local government entities, including the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s Office and the Government Services Group.
Many of the firm’s clients reappeared on the executive branch lobbying list as well and University Medical Service Association Inc. was again one of the firm’s highest-paying customers providing about $15,000 in revenues. That figure was matched by Fidelity Information Services LLC and Tableau Software.
When lobbyists and their firms sign lobbying agreements with each client, they are required to report all earnings with the state.
Lobbying firms faced an Aug. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering April 1 through June 31. Compensation reports for the third quarter of 2020 are due to the state on Nov. 14.
