Drew Wilson
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney netted an estimated $350,000 in lobbying fees last quarter.
New compensation reports show the team of Keith Arnold, Brett Bacot, Marnie George, Michael Harrell, Jim Magill and Kimberly McGlynn advocated on behalf of more than 40 clients, reeling in $245,000 in pay lobbying the Legislature and another $125,000 lobbying the Governor and Cabinet.
Lobbying firms report their quarterly earnings from each client in ranges covering $10,000 increments. The estimated totals reflect the middle number of the per-client ranges.
Firms also disclose broad ranges for their overall earnings in each branch. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney reported earning between $100,000 and $250,000 in legislative lobbying fees and between $50,000 and $100,000 in executive lobbying fees.
Using the per-client ranges, the firm earned no less than $150,000 for the quarter and could have earned as much as $350,000.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney represents clients from a broad array of industries — statewide associations, health care businesses, tech companies, municipal governments, insurance interests and the tourism sector all get at least a cameo.
However, the firm’s top legislative clients for the quarter were the Florida League of Cities and the Palm Beach County Tax Collector, both of which paid $25,000 in fees during the July through September reporting period.
The Florida League of Cities is a statewide association of city leaders. It is staunch backer of home rule legislation and, just as often, is the most vocal opponent of bills that would preempt local ordinances.
One rung down were 10 clients that paid between $10,000 and $20,000 for legislative work over the three-month span. Health care businesses were the most prevalent the set, with Collier Health Services, Hope HealthCare Services, the Lee Memorial Health System and Vertex Pharmaceuticals showing up in that bracket.
Meanwhile, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s executive compensation report was topped by MUNIRevs and Tableau Software, both of which chipped in $15,000 for the quarter. MUNIRevs is a software platform that helps cities collect business tax revenues. Tableau produces data visualization and analytics software.
The remainder of the firm’s clientele paid $5,000 apiece last quarter. Still, there were several household names among them, such as State Farm, Habitat for Humanity and Universal City Development Partners — otherwise known as Universal Orlando.
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s third-quarter earnings came in slightly below the quarter prior, when it earned an estimated $410,000. Still, their earnings ceiling and floor remained the same, indicating Q3 earnings could have been on par despite the global economic crunch.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms face a Nov. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering July 1 through Sept. 30. Compensation reports for the fourth quarter of 2020 are due to the state in mid-February.
