Drew Wilson
Johnson & Blanton collected nearly $1.2 million in lobbying fees last quarter, according to newly filed compensation reports.
The reports show the firm collected an estimated $720,000 for lobbying the Legislature and earned another $465,000 lobbying the Governor and Cabinet, making for $1.19 million in earnings for the July through September reporting period.
Lobbyists and lobbying firms report the pay they receive from each client in ranges, each covering $10,000 increments. Florida Politics uses the middle number of those ranges to estimate pay.
Jon Johnson, Travis Blanton, Diane Carr, Darrick McGhee, and Eric Prutsman lobbied the legislature on behalf of 88 clients. Team J&B’s legislative compensation report showed two of them — Advent Health and the Florida Hospital Association — paid $35,000 apiece last quarter, earning them the top spot on the sheet.
BayCare and the Florida Engineering Society followed at the $25,000 level. Another 27 principals were marked down in the $15,000 pay bracket, while the balance paid $5,000 apiece for the quarter.
Health care interests were prevalent throughout.
Among Johnson & Blanton’s Q3 clients were the Florida Dental Association, Florida Health Care Association, Florida Society of Anesthesiologists, Florida Society of Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery, Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and Moffitt Cancer Center.
The reports also included some pharmocological interests, such as Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer, the latter of which is behind the much-hyped coronavirus vaccine candidate that could be landing in Florida by the end of the year.
Johnson & Blanton also represented several clients from non-health care or health care adjacent industries. A sampling: Florida Internet & Television, Florida Power & Light Company, The GEO Group, Feeding Florida and the Florida Realtors.
The firm’s executive compensation report featured the same clients as the legislative report, though Rackspace Technology took the top spot with $35,000 in fees. The multibillion-dollar Texas-based company is one of the leaders in the cloud computing market.
In addition to per-client ranges, lobbying firms must disclose a broad range for their overall income. Johnson & Blanton reported $500,000 to $1 million in legislative lobbying pay and between $250,000 and $500,000 in executive branch pay. In all, the firm earned no less than $750,000 and could have earned as much as $1.5 million.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced 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.
