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More on lobbyists’ earnings
//June 28, 2012
With about $21.4 million earned by Maryland’s top legislative lobbyists, there’s quite a bit that I couldn’t fit into a story about those earnings in Thursday’s paper.
According to records published by the State Ethics Commission, 169 companies and organizations spent more than $50,000 on lobbying from Nov. 1 to April 30. Ninety-eight lobbyists earned at least $50,000 in the same span.
Not bad for six-months’ work.
Every organization that holds a slots license in Maryland — and one that remains the lone bidder for a Baltimore license — spent huge sums in Annapolis, from Penn National Gaming Inc.’s No. 1 ranking ($877,432.44) to Evitts Resort LLC’s ranking at No. 109 ($65,875.22). Those companies combined to spend $1.3 million on lobbying in the six-month period.
The Maryland Association of Realtors Inc. spent the fourth-most money ($443,117.03), much of it successfully used to prevent a budget provision that would have impacted mortgage-interest deductions.
The Maryland State Bar Association Inc. ranked 57th, spending $94,202 from November to April. Their staff lobbyist, Richard A. Montgomery III, was No. 80 among on the list of highest earners, making $60,366.
I could go on, but here’s a list of the top employers and a separate list of the highest-earning lobbyists.
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