TALLAHASSEE – You have to forgive Florida's reform-minded lawmakers if they don't want to preclude all their current colleagues from cashing in as lobbyists.
This week, the Senate amended its sweeping ethics reform bill (SB 2) to allow current lawmakers who plan to leave in 2014 to go ahead and register as executive lobbyists. For all those elected going forward, the bill would ban them from lobbying either the executive or legislative branch for two years after leaving office.
Think of it as the clout culture overcoming good intentions.
Senate Ethics and Elections Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said the change wasn't intended to help anyone specifically. Both Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, have said they don't plan lobbying careers once they leave office.
But the change does potentially afford a nice parachute for others.
Lobbying is a money-tree for the strategic thinkers, good ole' boys and street-savvy characters feeding off anyone who wants some say in remote Tallahassee. And there's a high premium on term-limited lawmakers who have some pull with their former co-workers.
Just this week, former Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, was snatched up by the parent company of gaming giant Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach, and has registered to lobby the executive branch for Raillex, a partner of CSX. Former Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, set up shop last year.
"I don't care whether you've been a speaker or a member or a state agency employee, you have to work to get good clients and keep them and get results in this process," said Sen. John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican who was a lobbyist, then became House speaker, then resumed lobbying for Southern Strategies, one of the capital's top firms.
"It's not an easy process. You can't do it by just reputation and name. You still have to work at it."
Last year, clients paid $212 million to lobby the executive and legislative branches of Florida government, just under the $216 million reported in 2011. But a look behind the numbers reveals that the rich are getting richer – and competition fiercer.
In 2011, the 513 firms lobbying the Legislature earned an average of $247,840. Last year, that number shrank to 451, but average pay rose to $274,120.
The average is skewed by the heaviest-hitters.
Only 29 firms -- about six percent -- grossed more than $1 million to lobby the Legislature last year. Top earners included Brian Ballard, Ron Book, Orlando law firm Gray Robinson, Gov. Rick Scott's longtime friend Bill Rubin, former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Al Cardenas, and Cocoa lobbyist Guy Spearman. In 2011, 28 firms broke the $1 million mark.
A better gauge is the median compensation: $84,998 in 2011, jumping to $105,000 last year.
Meanwhile, the companies, interest-groups, local governments and others who hired lobbyists dipped from 2,983 in 2011 to 2,813 last year, although what they were paying went up on average from $42,600 to $43,900.
Fewer companies lobbied Scott's office, too. The number of firms fell from 409 to 371, and the clients dipped from 2,642 to 2,514.
All this suggests a tightening cadre of lobbyists competing for a shrinking pool of clients, which could drive up the price for this potentially final class of lawmakers who can immediately parlay their access to power into a paycheck.
"I don't think you ought to keep people out of making a living. Two years is plenty. After that, you lose contacts," Thrasher said. "When you're no longer a member, many people have forgotten you. The turnover in this place is enormous."
adeslatte@tribune.com or 850-222-5564
