The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent more to lobby the state legislature than any other group in the first month of the 2022 session — continuing its trend as the perennial leader in such spending over the past decade.
According to new figures from the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission, the chamber spent $41,156 lobbying the General Assembly in January, with nearly all of this comprised of compensation for its 15 registered lobbyists.
The chamber’s January report indicated it lobbied the legislature on 42 bills, topped by House Bill 4 — priority legislation of House Republicans to restrict eligibility for unemployment insurance in an effort to increase workforce participation and reduce the tax burden of employers who pay into the fund.
Background: One group’s lobbying spending for 2021 legislative session nearly double the next highest
House Bill 4 cleared the chamber last week, though 15 rural Republicans broke off to join Democrats in voting against the bill, saying it would devastate struggling constituents where open jobs are scarce.
The chamber has led all other groups in legislative lobbying spending in five of the last six years, with the $496,788 it spent in 2021 nearly doubling the next-highest spender.
The ACLU of Kentucky placed second among groups with $39,478 in spending, with just more than $30,000 of that directed to nine lobbyists. The group lobbied on a wide list of legislation, supporting criminal justice reform bills and opposing ones restricting LGBTQ and reproductive rights.
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The Kentucky Hospital Association was a close third with $37,602 spent on seven lobbyists. The group’s report indicated it lobbied for two bills appropriating funds for lung cancer screenings and expanding hospitals’ remote access to pharmacy databases — both of which cleared the chamber unanimously.
Placing fourth in legislative lobbying spending with $26,114 was the Kentucky League of Cities, with the advocacy group for local governments reporting it paid nine lobbyists to work on more than 100 bills in January.
Rounding out the top five was tobacco giant Altria with $24,647, though its report indicated the four lobbyists it compensated did not lobby the legislature on any bills or issues.
A newcomer to the list of top lobbying spenders is also a newcomer to many convenience stores and union halls around the state — a manufacturer of so-called “skill games” or “gray machines” that are proliferating around Kentucky and creating controversy.
Pacomatic of Kentucky reported paying three agents $20,500 in January to lobby on “skill games” — with a bill expected to be filed this month to make such games illegal.
The company manufactures a game called Burning Barrel with cash rewards, but critics say it’s virtually indistinguishable from casino slot machines, which are illegal in Kentucky.
Prominent Technologies, makers of “Wildcat Skill” games also quickly spreading in Kentucky, spent $5,000 on two lobbyists.
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Groups such as the Kentucky Lottery Corp., charitable gaming organizations and horse tracks — the latter of which operates historical horse racing machines, slot-like games the horse industry successfully lobbied to legalize last year — have indicated opposition to the gray machines.
Diamond Game Enterprises and Lancaster Bingo Co. — two businesses working with charitable gaming — collectively employed seven agents to lobby against skill games in January.
The Kentucky Retail Federation — which placed 12th in lobbying spending with nearly $15,000 — says it is neutral on the bill, but wanted clarity on the legality of the machines. Some retailers have lobbied against making the games illegal, saying they’ve helped businesses stay afloat, while fraternal orders of police around the state have received portions of profits from them.
John Tilley, the former secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet under former Gov. Matt Bevin, was the top-paid lobbyist for Pacomatic, making $8,250 in January.
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According to the Kentucky Lottery Corp., which delivers millions of dollars of proceeds to college scholarships, there are now at least 1,245 gray machines (so-called because this type of machine often operates in a gray area of the law) in 317 retailers across 66 counties in Kentucky — just counting the locations where the lottery already has vending machines.
John McCarthy, the former Kentucky GOP chairman and owner of McCarthy Strategic Solutions, led all other legislative lobbyist in compensation in January, raking in $83,109 from 89 different employers.
McCarthy was the second highest paid legislative lobbyist in 2021 — making nearly $800,000 — and has also been the highest-paid executive branch lobbyist over the past two fiscal years.
Top 10 legislative lobbying spenders in January
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today at the top of this page.
