Spending on lobbying firms topped $550 million through 21 months of legislative cycle

Special interest groups, or “lobbyist employers” as they’re known in the parlance of the California Secretary of State’s office, paid lobbying firms more than $84 million to lobby members of California’s state government in the third quarter of 2024, the most of any quarter thus far during the 2023-24 legislative cycle, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of lobbying firm reports.

That number doesn’t include all of the funds spent on lobbying during the seventh quarter of the cycle, as lobbying firm disclosure reports don’t include wages and expenses for in-house lobbyists.

The $84 million represents a 3 percent increase from the amount spent on the second quarter of 2024, after accounting for disclosure amendments. The second-highest grossing quarter for lobbying firms was the second quarter of 2024, when they received more than $82 million, followed by the fourth of 2023, when lobbyist employers paid more $79 million to lobbying firms.

Special interests spent the least amount of money during the first quarter of last year, more than $71 million, again according to figures updated after amended disclosures.

For the first seven quarters of the 2023-24 legislative cycle, special interests paid more than $550 million to lobbying firms, according to SoS disclosures analyzed during early November. (Capitol Weekly notes in these quarterly lobbying spending stories when we generally gathered our data because the filing of subsequent amendments can change totals. We also note that we try at every turn to catch any mis-formatted data, to avoid any miscounts. Scraping numbers from Cal-Access, however, can be an imperfect process and mis-formatted data isn’t always properly flagged in spreadsheet calculations. Please contact us if you see any incorrect totals.)

Capitol Weekly’s analysis aggregates the total dollar value of all lobbying payments received by lobbying firms that are registered with the state, as disclosed on Form 625, which is filed quarterly with the SoS.

The Form 625 is only for lobbying firms, which are defined as businesses “compensated to communicate directly with any state, legislative or agency official to influence legislative or administrative action on behalf of a client.”

As usual, the top firms from previous quarters generally remained the top firms in the seventh quarter, although once again some of their rankings changed.

Bob White’s California Strategies, the top earning firm in the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, held onto the top spot once again in Q7 with receipts of nearly $3.086 million. CalStrat was followed closely by John Latimer’s Capitol Advocacy, the top earning firm in the first and third quarters of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, which reported receiving nearly $3.069 million.

Until now, no firm had cracked $3 million in receipts during a single quarter this session. In quarter seven, we had two – easily the two largest firms involved in California politics.

Coming in a distant third was KP Public Affairs with more than $2.5 million in receipts for the quarter.

Three other lobbying firms reported making more than $2 million in the third quarter of 2024:

• Axiom Advisors ($2.4 million)
• Platinum Advisors ($2.3 million)
• Townsend Public Affairs (nearly $2.1 million)

Fifteen more firms reported making more than $1 million in the seventh quarter:

• Weideman Group (more than $1.97 million)
• Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange (more than $1.85 million)
• Carter, Wetch & Associates (more than $1.5 million)
• Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates (more than $1.4 million)
• Lang Hansen Giroux & Kidane (more than $1.37 million)
• Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni (more than $1.32 million)
• Actum (more than $1.3 million)
• Niemela, Pappas and Associates (nearly $1.28 million)
• Aaron Read & Associates (more than $1.26 million)
• Political Solutions (nearly $1.25 million)
• Deveau Burr Group (nearly $1.18 million)
• Campbell Strategy & Advocacy (nearly $1.17 million)
• California Advisors (more than $1.13 million)
• Caliber Strategies (nearly $1.03 million)
• Fernandez Jensen Kimmelshue Government Affairs (more than $1 million)

The 21 firms that reported receipts of more than $1 million for the seventh quarter received 42 percent of all money paid to lobbying firms during the period.

Two other firms, California Advocates and Joe A. Gonsalves & Son, reported making more than $900,000 in the seventh quarter. Seven more firms reported payments of more than $800,000: Lighthouse Public Affairs, Resolute, Governmental Advocates, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Sacramento Advocates, Edelstein, Gilbert, Robson & Smith and Carpenter Garcia Sievers.

One hundred and fifty-nine firms reported receiving six figures or more in payments in Q7. At least another 151 firms reported receiving five figures in payments.

For the first seven quarters of the 2023-24 legislative cycle, two firms reported receiving more than $18 million: Capitol Advocacy (more than $18.94 million) and California Strategies (nearly $18.4 million). Axiom Advisors came in third, with more than $16.6 million in receipts year to date.

Five other firms reported a total of eight-figures in receipts:

• Platinum Advisors (more than $14.8 million)
• KP Public Affairs (nearly $14.8 million)
• Weideman Group ($14.1 million)
• Townsend Public Affairs (more than $13.8 million)
• Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange (nearly $13.8 million)

These eight firms received nearly a quarter (23 percent) of all payments to lobbying firms during the first seven quarters of the legislative cycle.

One firm reported making more than $9 million: Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni.

Six more firms reported making more than $8 million:

• Lang Hansen Giroux & Kidane (more than $8.99 million)
• Niemela, Pappas and Associates (nearly $8.9 million)
• Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates (nearly $8.8 million)
• Political Solutions (more than $8.69 million)
• Campbell Strategy & Advocacy (more than $8.68 million)
• Aaron Read & Associates (more than $8.5 million)

Another two firms reported making more than $7 million: Carter, Wetch & Associates (more than $7.37 million) and Actum (nearly $7.1 million).

Another six firms report making more than $6 million:

• California Advisors (more than $6.99 million)
• California Advocates (more than $6.91 million)
• Fernandez Jensen Kimmelshue Government Affairs (more than $6.4 million)
• Caliber Strategies (nearly $6.3 million)
• Sacramento Advocates (more than $6.09 million)
• Joe A. Gonsalves & Son (more than $6.07 million)

These 23 top firms received 44 percent of all payments to lobbying firms over the first seven quarters.

Nine additional firms reported making more than $5 million:

• Edelstein, Gilbert, Robson & Smith (more than $5.8 million)
• Governmental Advocates (more than $5.6 million)
• Carpenter Garcia Sievers (nearly $5.6 million)
• Arc Strategies ($5.4 million)
• Strategies 360 (nearly $5.4 million)
• Resolute (nearly $5.2 million)
• McHugh Koepke Padron Government Relations (nearly $5.1 million)
• Capitol Advisors Group (nearly $5.02 million)
• Lighthouse Public Affairs ($5 million)

Eight more firms reported making more than $4 million through the first seven quarters of the legislative cycle:

• Cruz Strategies (more than $4.8 million)
• Miller Cespedes and Associates (nearly $4.6 million)
• Public Policy Advocates (nearly $4.45 million)
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (more than $4.4 million)
• The Gualco Group (nearly $4.4 million)
• Manatt, Phelps & Phillips (nearly $4.2 million)
• Samson Advisors (nearly $4.13 million)
• Buchalter (nearly $4.1 million)

An additional 13 firms have reported earning more than $3 million thus far through the cycle:

• Capitol Strategies Group (more than $3.9 million)
• Kahn, Soares, & Conway (more than $3.7 million)
• Omni Government Relations (nearly $3.7 million)
• Aprea & Company (more than $3.6 million)
• Hurst Brooks Espinosa (nearly $3.5 million)
• Norwood Associates (nearly $3.47 million)
• Kate Bell Strategies (nearly $3.4 million)
• Deveau Burr Group (more than $3.3 million)
• Nossaman (nearly $3.2 million)
• Balance Public Relations & Strategic Solutions (more than $3.1 million)
• Fanslau Government Affairs (nearly $3.07 million)
• California Advocacy (more than $3.04 million)
• Mosaic Solutions and Advocacy (more than $3 million)

These 53 firms received 67 percent of all payments to lobbying firms over the first 21 months of the cycle.

Another 15 more firms reported earning more than $2 million during the first seven quarters of the 2023-24 legislative cycle:

• Greenberg Traurig (nearly $2.83 million)
• Politico Group (nearly $2.81 million)
• Capitol Strategic Advisors (more than $2.6 million)
• CA Lobby (nearly $2.55 million)
• Rostrum (more than $2.5 million)
• Capitol Connection (more than $2.4 million)
• Pinnacle Advocacy (more than $2.36 million
• The Law Offices of Alberto Torrico (more than $2.35 million)
• School Services of California (more than $2.3 million)
• Houston Magnani and Associates (nearly $2.3 million)
• Murdoch, Walrath & Holmes (more than $2.2 million)
• California Public Policy Group, formerly known as the Renne Public Policy Group (nearly $2.2 million)
• Capitol Partners (nearly $2.17 million)
• Kester/Pahos (nearly $2.12 million)
• WPSS Group (more than $2 million)

These 68 firms received nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of all payments to lobbying firms over the first 21 months of the cycle.

The 116 firms total reported earnings of more than $1 million over the first seven quarters of the legislative cycle. Those firms received 85 percent of all payments made to lobbying firms during that time.

An additional 188 firms reported making six figures during the first seven quarters. An additional 100 firms reported making five figures during the first seven quarters.