Lobbyists Continue To Spend Big In Frankfort

The Kentucky General Assembly may not be in session, but corporate lobbying expenditures continue unabated. The legislature’s regular session ended April 15th. A six-day special session on the budget ended May 29th. But lobbying expenditures continue. From the beginning of May to the end of August, 20 companies and organizations spent nearly $800,000 lobbying Kentucky lawmakers. The top spender – at more than $90,000 - was Altria, the parent company of Phillip Morris. Other big spenders were the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, University Health Care, Keeneland Association, Houchens Industries and the Kentucky Farm Bureau. The Legislative Branch Ethics Commission says since January, almost $12 million has been spent on more than 600 lobbyists often found in Frankfort.