FRANKFORT, Ky. — Health industry groups, business organizations and electric utilities helped drive spending on lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly to a record $28.1 million in 2024.
That total spent by nearly 900 corporations, associations and other groups to influence Kentucky lawmakers soared above the previous record of about $25.5 million spent to lobby the legislature in 2023.
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent far more than any group to lobby state lawmakers last year — $461,429, according to data posted on the website of the Legislative Ethics Commission on Thursday.
The chamber, which represents more than 3,800 member businesses, has traditionally been the top lobby spender in Kentucky, although it fell to second place in 2023 behind a group that unsuccessfully pushed to block a ban on so-called “gray” gambling machines.
The chamber’s 14 registered lobbyists reported working on a broad range of more than 40 bills in 2024, including budget bills that helped keep Kentucky on path to continuing to lower the state income tax.
The chamber’s effort was complemented by Greater Louisville Inc., the chamber of commerce for the state’s largest metropolitan area, which ranked 11th in lobby spending at $157,632.
The Kentucky Hospital Association spent the second most for lobbying in 2024 at $298,177. Its efforts included successfully opposing bills that would have loosened certificate of need requirements on health care providers and made it easier for freestanding birth centers to open in Kentucky.
Health care organizations, including the Kentucky Hospital Association, drove up spending on lobbying. Of the 25 entities that spent the most last year to influence lawmakers, nine were from the health care sector.
But it was legislation affecting power plant retirements that was a major reason for the record amount of lobby spending. Senate Bill 349 created new hurdles for utilities that want to retire power plants fired by fossil fuels. It created a new commission — with significant fossil fuel industry representation — to review a utility’s plan to retire a power plant fired by fossil fuels before that plan could be presented to the state’s official utility regulator, the Kentucky Public Service Commission.
Investor-owned utilities opposed the bill. Member-owned cooperatives supported it.
The conflict resulted in much larger lobbying efforts by these groups in 2024.
Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities ranked third in lobby spending in 2024 at $235,168. Duke Energy ranked seventh at $172,689. The Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives was 12th at $146,443, and East Kentucky Power Cooperative ranked 17th at $127,936.
SB 349 passed the Kentucky Senate and House and was later vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear who said it was the wrong approach to helping assure a reliable supply of electricity to Kentucky homes and businesses. But Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate easily overrode Beshear’s veto.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky ranked fifth in spending for the year. Its spending was driven partly by its opposition to House Bill 5, the legislature’s Safer Kentucky Act which lengthened court sentences and made street camping a crime. The Safer Kentucky Act passed.
Other bills and issues caused some groups which were not quite among the top 25 to spend big in 2024. The Frankfort Plant Board, which had never lobbied the General Assembly before, reported spending $101,032 in 2024 to successfully block a bill which in its initial form would have forced it to sell its telecommunications services. And the Jefferson County Public Schools, which found itself under siege by the Republican dominated legislature, reported spending $89,213 in 2024.
Top spenders
Here is a list of the 25 companies or groups that spent the most lobbying state lawmakers in 2024, according to the Legislative Ethics Commission website:
- Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort, business — $461,429
- Kentucky Hospital Association, Louisville, hospitals — $298,177
- LG&E and KU Energy, Louisville, utility — $235,168
- Altria Client Services, Richmond, Virginia, tobacco — $192,282
- ACLU of Kentucky, Louisville, non-profit — $184,656
- Kentucky Distillers Assn., Frankfort, distilled spirits — $172,689
- Duke Energy, Cincinnati, utility — $172,613
- Kentucky League of Cities, Lexington, city governments — $171,608
- Kentucky Primary Care Assn., Frankfort, health care — $166,216
- Kentucky Retail Federation, Frankfort, retail stores — $161,350
- Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville, business — $157,632
- Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, Louisville, utility — $146,443
- HCA Healthcare, Nashville, health care — $146,400
- Kentucky Medical Assn., Louisville, doctors — $131,685
- Humana, Louisville, health insurance — $137,766
- Churchill Downs, Louisville, gambling — $129,027
- East Kentucky Power Company, Winchester, utility — $127,936
- Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn., Washington, pharmaceuticals —$126,693
- LifePoint Health, Brentwood, Tennessee, hospital — $120,438
- Elevance Health, Louisville, health insurance — $118,591
- Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturing, Washington, pharmaceuticals — $117,197
- Kentucky Association of Counties, Frankfort, county governments — $116,986
- Kentucky Justice Assn., Frankfort, trial lawyers — $113,610
- RAI Services, Winston-Salem, tobacco — $112,217
- Amazon.com, Washington, internet company — $105,819
Highest-paid lobbyists
Currently, 688 lobbyists are registered with the ethics commission. The top lobbyists are by far the highest-paid people who work in the Capitol.
For context, consider that Gov. Andy Beshear’s salary is $179,443.
Here are the 25 people who were paid the most to lobby the General Assembly in 2024, according to the ethics commission website. Each of these lobbyists represents many different clients. Listed with each name is the lobbying firm the lobbyist works for, the number of clients represented by the lobbyist, and the total amount in fees paid to the lobbyist by all of those clients.
- Patrick M. Jennings, Commonwealth Alliances, 79 clients, $975,237; Clients include: AT&T, The Jockey Club, Ky Hospital Assn., Liberty Initiative Fund, United Parcel Service
- John T. McCarthy III, McCarthy Strategic Solutions, 108 clients, $795,552; Clients include: Churchill Downs, Altria Client Services, National Mentor Holdings, Netsmart, Ky Optometric Assn.
- Stephen S. Huffman, HCM Government Relations, 27 clients, $773,800; Clients include: The Red Mile, Revolutionary Racing, Keeneland, IGT, American Municipal Power
- Robert A. Babbage, Babbage Co-Founder, 42 clients, $731,940; Clients include: Angel’s Envy, Cash Express, PrizePicks, Tyler Kentucky, Underdog Fantasy
- Sean Cutter, MMLK Government Solutions, 62 clients, $711,173; Clients include: CoreCivic, Humana, RAI Services, Google LLC, Merck Sharp & Dohme
- Jason Bentley, MMLK Government Solutions, 58 clients, $653,890; Clients include: RAI Services Company, Ky Distillers Assn., Ascend Elements, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LG&E and KU Energy
- Ronald Pryor, Capitol Solutions, 9 clients, $646,186; Clients include: LifePoint Health, HCA Healthcare, Ky Hospital Assn., Murray State University, Tyson Foods
- Kelley Abell, The Rotunda Group, 26 clients, $630,374; Clients include: McKesson, Motion Picture Assn., Dish Network, BrightSpring Health, Ky Assn. of Adult Day Centers
- Katherine W. Hall, Commonwealth Alliances, 79 clients, $624,593; Ky Assn of Health Care Facilities, Republic Services, Scholastic Inc., Gainwell Technologies, Ky Veterinary Medical Assn.
- Chris Nolan, MMLK Government Solutions, 62 clients, $623,053; Kentucky Distillers‘ Assn., Nucor Corp., GoodRX, Humana, Tri-Arrows Aluminum, National Assn. of Vision Care Plans
- James Higdon, MMLK Government Solutions, 62 clients, $615,255; RAI Services, Unite US, Centegix, Humana, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Assn.
- Laura E. Owens, JYB3 Group, 35 clients, $502,000; Clients include: Powerhouse Gaming, Baptist Health, Cumberland River Behavioral Health, Cooper Surgical, Uber Technologies
- Amy Wickliffe, McCarthy Strategic Solutions, 95 clients, $501,358; Clients include: Pfizer, Ky Realtors, Churchill Downs, Al J. Schneider Company, Ky Dental Assn.
- Jason P. Underwood, Capitol Strategies, 6 clients, $500,600; Client include: Enervenue, United Healthcare Services Inc., Heaven Hill Distilleries, American Wagering, Airbnb
- Mike Biagi, The Rotunda Group, 21 clients, $461,541; Clients include: Kentucky Downs, Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Kentucky Credit Union League, Chewy Inc., McKesson
- Stephanie L. Stumbo, Commonwealth Advocate, 10 clients, $400,800; Clients include: NextEra Energy, Kentucky Petroleum Marketers, Pikeville Medical Center, Grover Gaming, Kentucky Guild of Brewers.
- Trey Grayson, FBT, 26 clients, $384,358; Clients include: Kentucky County Clerks’ Assn., Risepoint LLC, Kentucky Retail Federation, Secure Elections Project, Wellpath
- John P. Cooper, Capital Link, 22 clients, $383,687; Clients include: Toyota Motor North America, Kentucky Bankers Assn., Kentucky Medical Assn., Amazon.com Services, Bank of America
- Marc Wilson, Top Shelf Lobby, 36 clients, $364,632; Clients include: Sports Betting Alliance, Community Choice Financial, Cincinnati Bell, Mountain Comprehensive Care, Kentucky Beer Wholesalers Assn.
- Steve Robertson, FBT, 26 clients, $345,178; Clients include: Lancaster Colony Corp., Waterford.org, Pharmaceutical Research and Manuf. Of America, City of Ashland, Yes Every Kid Inc.
- Rebecca Hartsough, Babbage Co-founder, 37 clients, $318,500; Clients include: FC Cincinnati, Kentucky Health Departments Assn., Novo Nordisk, Grant Ready Kentucky, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
- Timothy R. Corrigan, The Rotunda Group, 22 clients, $304,372; Clients include: Dow Chemical, American Assn. for Marriage & Family Therapy, Suntory Global Spirits, Waterfront Botanical Garden, Outfront Media
- Collin Johnson, Commonwealth Alliances, 81 clients, $301,680; Clients include: Kentucky Hospital Assn., Western Kentucky University, Kentucky Association of Counties, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, AT&T
- Richie Sanders, Capital Link, 15 clients, $294,000; Clients include: Houchens Industries, Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, Friends of LifeWorks, Allen County-Scottsville Industrial Development Authority, Turning Point Brands
- Julia Crigler, Commonwealth Alliances, 73 clients, $292,767; Clients include: Kentucky Cable Telecommunications Assn., Coinbase Inc., Accelerate Learning Inc., Cicero Action, Clean Slate Initiative
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
Tom Loftus is a native of Cincinnati and a graduate of The Ohio State University. His long career in Kentucky journalism includes four years as Frankfort bureau chief for The Kentucky Post and 32 years as Frankfort bureau chief for The Courier Journal. He is a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and a freelance reporter for the Kentucky Lantern.
