Politics
Lobbying compensation: Top 15 ante climbs to $1.25M in Q2
Lobbying compensation reports for the second quarter dropped earlier this month, and each of the state’s Top 15 shops reported earnings in the $1.25 million range.
Here’s Florida Politics’ rundown of the No. 11 through No. 15 firms in the second quarter; check out the full lobby firm rankings and stay tuned for a closer look at how the Top 5 firms fared in Q2.
A reminder: Florida Politics estimates how much firms earn based on the middle number of the per-client ranges they list on their compensation reports. Firms report contracts in $10,000 increments. Compensation reports also include firm-level ranges, giving outsiders a rough idea of their minimum and maximum earnings.
Florida Politics ranks lobbying firm earnings based on the middle number of the per-client ranges listed on compensation reports. Contracts are reported in $10,000 increments. Compensation reports also include firm-level ranges, which can give outsiders a rough idea of a firm’s minimum and maximum earnings.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a mid-August deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. Compensation reports for the first quarter are due to the state on Nov. 14.
No. 11: SBM Partners
SBM Partners, the longtime powerhouse that rebranded from Smith Bryan & Myers in January, held steady at No. 11 with $1.735 million in earnings for the second quarter of 2025. The firm is on pace to top its 2024 performance, when it collected $6.63 million overall.
The firm is led by Jeff Hartley, Teye Carmichael and Lisa Hurley alongside former House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, who merged his Crisafulli Consulting portfolio into the operation at the start of the year. They’re joined by lobbyists David Daniel, Jonathan Rees and 2025 addition Parker Powell, formerly of the Department of Financial Services.
The team represented more than 100 clients in Q2, spanning industries from finance and health care to insurance and retail. Legislative disclosures showed a broad spread of midsized contracts, with $25,000 paychecks from companies such as Publix, the Florida Hospital Association, American Integrity Insurance Company and JM Family Enterprises anchoring the report.
On the disclosure forms, SBM reported between $500,000 and $999,999 in legislative earnings and the same range on the executive side. By median estimates, the firm earned $975,000 in legislative lobbying and another $760,000 in executive branch lobbying. If clients paid at the top of each range, SBM could have collected as much as $2 million in Q2.
Adding in Q1’s $1.855 million, SBM has collected $3.59 million year-to-date. If that pace holds, the firm is on track to finish 2025 with around $7.2 million in overall earnings, which would best its 2024 total.
No. 12: Floridian Partners
Floridian Partners finished No. 12 in the second quarter with $1.631 million in earnings, putting it on track to exceed the $5.53 million it earned across all quarters in 2024.
The seven‑lobbyist team — Charles Dudley, Jorge Chamizo, George Feijoo, Hunter Flack, Gary Guzzo, Toby Philpot and Melissa Joiner Ramba — worked with a broad mix of 80-plus clients across health care, insurance, telecom, retail and other industries.
On the legislative side, top contracts included Elevance Health and Florida Internet & Television at the $45,000 level. One rung down at $35,000 were Funding Florida Legal Aid, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Sutherland Capital, followed by a $25,000 tier featuring Allstate, Centene, CNA, EarnIn, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Insurance Council, Lee Memorial Health System, RKT Holdings and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The executive branch report was led by the National Council on Compensation Insurance at $56,000 — an exact figure above the $50,000 cap on range reporting. Elevance Health and Venable followed at $45,000 apiece, with MorseLife and Sawgrass Farms at $35,000, and a $25,000 tier that included Alivi Technology, Milliman and Preceptis Medical.
For Q2, Floridian Partners reported the $500,000–$999,999 bracket on both reports. Using per‑client medians, the firm tallied about $965,000 in legislative earnings and $666,000 on the executive side, for a combined $1.631 million. If clients paid at the top of each range, the firm could have earned as much as $2 million for the quarter.
No. 13: Continental Strategy
Continental Strategy continued its climb, landing at No. 13 with $1.533 million in second‑quarter earnings.
Co‑founded by former state Rep. and U.S. Ambassador Carlos Trujillo, the Florida roster features James Card, Tom DiGiacomo, Gangul Gabadage, Courtney Jane Larkin, Tyler Russell and Ashley Ellis Spicola. The firm has also expanded its reach in Washington, where Alberto Martinez serves as managing partner of its D.C. office.
Legislative disclosures listed more than 60 clients, led by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida at the $35,000 level, with a broad mix of midsized contracts rounding out the sheet. On the executive side, LTS topped the charts with a whopping $158,000 contract, far exceeding the cap on range reporting and one of the largest single-client totals on any ledger this quarter. World Wide Technology was No. 2 at $45,000.
On the Q2 forms, Continental reported the $500,000–$999,999 bracket on both the legislative and executive reports. Using median estimates, the firm booked about $735,000 in legislative earnings and roughly $798,000 in executive branch earnings, for a combined $1.533 million. If clients paid at the top of each range, the quarter could have reached about $2 million.
Adding Q1’s $1.375 million to Q2’s $1.533 million, Continental has collected more than $2.9 million through the first half of the year. At that pace, the firm is on track for roughly $5.8 million in 2025 which would represent a greater than $1 million boost year-over-year.
No. 14: Arrow Group
Arrow Group secured the No. 14 spot in Q2 with $1.499 million in earnings, holding steady with its Q1 total. The tally reflects $999,999 in legislative receipts and $499,999 on the executive side — figures that match both the median and maximum estimates for the disclosure ranges filed. The firm ranked No. 13 in the first quarter.
The shop has a deep roster of advocates, including Al Balido, Ronald Brisé, Rosanna Manuela Catalano, Natalie Fausel, Edgar Fernandez, Julie Fess, Sha’Ron James, Alexandria Kernan, Corrine Maro, Trey Price, Kimberly Shugar, Timothy Stapleton and Larry Williams.
Arrow officially launched at the start of the year as a strategic partnership between Gunster and Anfield Consulting. The move combined Gunster’s statewide business law platform with Anfield’s seasoned advocacy bench to create a Tallahassee-based firm with reach across Florida.
Balido, who previously led Anfield, now heads the group, while Brisé, a former state Representative, serves as Senior Policy Advisor. Together, they bring decades of experience in lawmaking, regulation and advocacy — connections that leadership said would position Arrow as an “innovative and relationship-rich” alternative in Florida’s government affairs space.
On the legislative side, the firm’s highest-paying contract was with the Estate of Peniel Janvier, which reported $58,000 in Q2. Combo Group Holdings followed at $45,000, with several other midsized contracts filling out the ledger. Executive disclosures were led by Resource Environmental Solutions at $35,000, with RTG Furniture Corp., the Estate of Peniel Janvier and Kissimmee Place Development Group each clocking in at the $25,000 level.
Together, Arrow Group’s Q1 and Q2 reports add up to just under $3 million year-to-date, putting the firm on pace for about $6 million in 2025 if it maintains its current trajectory.
No. 15: Johnston & Stewart
Johnston & Stewart cracked the Top 15 in the second quarter with $1.242 million in earnings, moving up from No. 16 in Q1 when it reported $1.113 million. The firm collected $4.19 million in 2024, and its first-half 2025 performance shows it on pace to surpass that mark by year’s end.
The four-person team — Jeff Johnston, Amanda Stewart, Anita Berry and Lauren Lange — managed 64 contracts on each report last quarter. The firm’s legislative disclosures brought in a median of $852,000, reported in the $500,000–$999,999 range. Executive branch work accounted for another $390,000, listed in the $250,000–$499,999 bracket. That brings the combined Q2 total to $1.242 million, with a potential top-end of nearly $1.5 million.
The firm’s largest legislative client was the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which paid $84,000. Gulfstream Park Racing Association followed at $63,000. Those two also topped the executive side at $35,000 and $25,000, respectively.
Beyond those anchors, Johnston & Stewart’s client sheet features a basketful of recognizable names: American Airlines, Baptist Health, Charter Communications, Humana, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Nicklaus Children’s Health System, TECO Energy, ZooTampa and Live Nation, among others.
Adding Q1’s $1.113 million to Q2’s $1.242 million, Johnston & Stewart has booked $2.355 million through the first half of 2025. If that pace continues, the firm is on track for nearly $4.7 million this year, which would be a $500,000 boost year-over-year.
The post Lobbying compensation: Top 15 ante climbs to $1.25M in Q2 appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..
For the first time in a decade, hunters armed with rifles and crossbows are fanning out across Florida’s swamps and flatwoods to legally hunt the Florida black bear, over the vocal opposition of critics.
The state-sanctioned hunt began Saturday, after drawing more than 160,000 applications for a far more limited number of hunting permits, including from opponents who are trying to reduce the number of bears killed in this year’s hunt, the state’s first since 2015.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission awarded 172 bear hunt permits by random lottery for this year’s season, allowing hunters to kill one bear each in areas where the population is deemed large enough. At least 43 of the permits went to opponents of the hunt who never intend to use them, according to the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club, which encouraged critics to apply in the hopes of saving bears.
The Florida black bear population is considered one of the state’s conservation success stories, having grown from just several hundred bears in the 1970s to an estimated more than 4,000 today.
The 172 people who were awarded a permit through a random lottery will be able to kill one bear each during the 2025 season, which runs from Dec. 6 to Dec. 28. The permits are specific to one of the state’s four designated bear hunting zones, each of which have a hunting quota set by state officials based on the bear population in each region.
In order to participate, hunters must hold a valid hunting license and a bear harvest permit, which costs $100 for residents and $300 for nonresidents, plus fees. Applications for the permits cost $5 each.
The regulated hunt will help incentivize maintaining healthy bear populations, and help fund the work that is needed, according to Mark Barton of the Florida chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, an advocacy group that supported the hunt.
Having an annual hunt will help guarantee funding to “keep moving conservation for bears forward,” Barton said.
According to state wildlife officials, the bear population has grown enough to support a regulated hunt and warrant population management. The state agency sees hunting as an effective tool that is used to manage wildlife populations around the world, and allows the state to monetize conservation efforts through permit and application fees.
“While we have enough suitable bear habitat to support our current bear population levels, if the four largest subpopulations continue to grow at current rates, we will not have enough habitat at some point in the future,” reads a bear hunting guide published by the state wildlife commission.
___
Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Kanye West and Bianca Censori Travel to South Korea Together
SpaceX to offer insider shares at record-setting $800 billion valuation
Anthony Joshua Says Beating Jake Paul By Decision Not Enough, Must Destroy Him
-
Politics8 years agoCongress rolls out ‘Better Deal,’ new economic agenda
-
Entertainment8 years ago
New Season 8 Walking Dead trailer flashes forward in time
-
Politics8 years ago
Poll: Virginia governor’s race in dead heat
-
Entertainment8 years ago
The final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
-
Entertainment8 years ago
Meet Superman’s grandfather in new trailer for Krypton
-
Politics8 years ago
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
-
Business8 years ago
6 Stunning new co-working spaces around the globe
-
Tech8 years ago
Hulu hires Google marketing veteran Kelly Campbell as CMO