Businesses, organizations, and legislative agents spent $7.5 million lobbying in the first three months of the 2016 General Assembly, and if April spending continues at that pace, total spending for the session will easily eclipse the previous spending record of $8.8 million, set in 2012.
For the first quarter of the year, the leading lobbying spender is the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which spent $120,426, including $9,202 on radio advertising in support of Senate Bill 2, which would have made changes in the state’s retirement systems, but did not pass.
Other top spenders include: Kentucky Hospital Association $102,294; Kentucky Retail Federation $99,997; Altria (Philip Morris) $94,469; Marsy’s Law for All, which spent $85,544, including $62,219 in advertising support for a proposed constitutional amendment relating to crime victims’ rights; Kentucky Justice Association $76,086; Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, which spent $64,878, including $5,339 on baskets containing Kentucky food items distributed to legislators; Kentucky League of Cities spent $61,238, including $5,850 for advertising in support of “911 legislation” on emergency services; Kentucky Bankers Association $54,240; Norton Healthcare $51,274; Anthem Inc. $51,000; Kentucky Association of School Administrators $47,950; Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives $47,494; Humana $45,574; Century Aluminum $44,246; Home Builders Association of Kentucky $44,180; and Baptist Health, which spent $41,254, including $3,416 on a Capitol Annex luncheon.
Recently-reported lobbying events include: a reception at Buffalo Trace Distillery for Community Mental Health Centers, sponsored by Bluegrass New Directions, Communicare, Kentucky Association of Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Programs, Inc., and Lake Cumberland Mental Health/Mental Retardation Board, Inc. ($6,355); a pre-game reception at the KFC Yum! Center, hosted by the University of Louisville ($5,408); City Day/City Night Reception at Frankfort Convention Center, hosted by the Kentucky League of Cities ($4,020); a “Taste of Louisville” reception at Berry Hill Mansion in Frankfort, hosted by the Greater Louisville Medical Society ($3,784); a Capitol Annex luncheon sponsored by Goodwill Industries ($1,340); a Capitol Annex luncheon sponsored by KY 811 ($1,284); a “Discovering Cures” educational event sponsored by Biotechnology Innovation Organization in the Capitol Annex ($1,092); Kentucky State University’s annual fish fry at KSU’s Cooperative Extension Building ($1,088); and a pre-game reception hosted by Alltech at the company’s Lexington Brewing Co. ($856).
From Legislative Ethics Commission
