Lobbying compensation: Ramba Consulting Group earns $580K in Q1

The half-dozen lobbyists at Ramba Consulting Group netted an estimated $580,000 in pay during the first three months of the year.

Fresh lobbying compensation reports show founder David Ramba and the team of Allison Carvajal, Paul Handerhan, Thomas Hobbs, Evan Power and Cameron Yarbrough represented four dozen clients during the first quarter.

The contracts produced an estimated $550,000 in earnings lobbying the Legislature. The firm pulled in another $30,000 lobbying the Governor and Cabinet.

Florida lobbyists report their earnings for each contract 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 quarterly earnings.

Ramba Consulting Group had one client that broke the range reporting cap: the Florida PACE Funding Agency. The group, which chipped in $60,000 between Jan. 1 and March 31, finances home upgrades under property assessed clean energy — or PACE — guidelines, which allows homeowners to pay back the cost of improvements on their property tax bill.

The second-most lucrative contract came from the Florida Optometric Association, which was on one side of a major scope-of-practice food fight during the regular Session. The association paid $35,000 for the quarter.

The Florida Chiropractic Association, the Florida Concrete & Products Association, FWD.US and Propel Florida followed at the $25,000 level. Another 20 clients showed up with $15,000 apiece and the remainder netted the firm an estimated $5,000 a pop.

A handful of well-known companies were in the $15,000 bloc, including AT&T, Florida Power & Light Company and Tampa Bay Downs — a thoroughbred horse track that had been pushing hard for inclusion in pari-mutuel decoupling bills.

Ramba’s executive branch report was comparatively light — it lists the same clients but only six are marked down as paid contracts. Those principals: Collective Medical Technologies, Consulate Health Care, the Florida Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, the Florida Chiropractic Association, the Florida Concrete & Products Association and Propel Florida.

The rest of the list paid $0 for executive branch lobbying last quarter.

In addition to per-client ranges, compensation reports list overall pay ranges for the quarter. Ramba Consulting Group’s legislative report shows between $500,000 and $1 million in earnings; the executive report shows between $1 and $50,000 in earnings.

If the firm’s collected top dollar from each client, it would have earned $790,000, with all by $50,000 of that listed on the legislative side of the ledger.

The median and maximum earnings totals are a step up from the firm’s quarterly earnings last year. In Q2 2020 — last time Florida Politics checked in on the firm’s earnings — it posted a $460,000 median with a $550,000 max.

Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a May 15 deadline to turn in compensation reports covering Jan. 1 through March 31. Second-quarter compensation reports are due to the state on Aug. 14.