Spending on lobbying firms topped $303 million in 2023

Lobbyist employers, otherwise known as special interests, paid firms a little more than $77 million to lobby California state government in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of lobbying firm reports.

That figure doesn’t include all of the funds spent on lobbying during the fourth quarter. Lobbying firm disclosure reports don’t include wages and expenses for in-house lobbyists, for example.

However, the $77 million spent represents about a 1 percent decrease from the amount spent in the third quarter and virtually equal to the amount spent in the second quarter. The fourth quarter was the third highest spending period of 2023, representing a 9 percent increase over the first quarter. These percentages are calculated from spending totals after lobbying firms have filed amendments to their disclosure forms throughout the course of 2023 (and therefore may differ from previous totals and percentages reported).

For the entire calendar year of 2023, special interests paid more than $303 million to lobbying firms, according to California Secretary of State disclosures analyzed during late January and early February. (Capitol Weekly notes in these quarterly lobbying spending stories when we generally gathered our data because the filing of subsequent amendments can affect 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.”

Once again, the top firms from previous quarters all remained top firms at the end of the year, although several changed places in the hierarchy of who made the most money in Q4.

(Before we continue, we should note that while it’s not uncommon for several smaller firms to not have quarterly reports available on Cal-Access, no fourth quarter disclosures have been posted for three relatively significant lobbying firms: Carter, Wetch & Associates; Fanslau Government Affairs and the Politico Group. As such, the following rankings may not reflect precisely where firms stack up against each other.)

After John Latimer’s Capitol Advocacy and Bob White’s California Strategies alternately held the top spot through the first three quarters (with Capitol Advocacy being the top money maker in Q1 and Q2 and reigning supreme in Q3) Jared Ficker, Cassie Gilson, Jason Kinney, Dustin Moore and Kevin Schmidt’s Axiom Advisors made the most money in the last three months of 2023, receiving nearly $2.9 million.

Six other lobbying firms reported making more than $2 million in the fourth quarter:

• Capitol Advocacy (nearly $2.6 million)
• California Strategies ($2.5 million)
• Townsend Public Affairs (nearly $2.2 million)
• Weideman Group ($2.12 million)
• Platinum Advisors ($2.11 million)
• KP Public Affairs (nearly $2.1 million)

Eleven more firms reported making more than $1 million in the fourth quarter:

• Shaw Yoder Antwith Schmelzer & Lange (nearly $1.6 million)
• Campbell Strategy & Advocacy ($1.39 million)
• Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates ($1.35 million)
• Lang Hansen Giroux & Kidane ($1.29 million)
• Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni ($1.28 million)
• Political Solutions ($1.26 million)
• Niemela, Pappas and Associates ($1.2 million)
• Aaron Read & Associates ($1.15 million)
• California Advocates ($1.1 million)
• Strategies 360 (nearly $1.08 million)
• California Advisors (more than $1 million)

These 18 firms received nearly 40 percent of all of the money paid to lobbying firms in the fourth quarter.

Three other firms – Edelstein, Gilbert, Robson & Smith, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Joe A. Gonsalves & Son – reported making more than $900,000 in the fourth quarter. Two more firms reported payments of more than $800,000: Caliber Strategies and Buchalter.

All told, 147 firms reported receiving six figures or more in payments in the fourth quarter. Another 148 reported receiving five figures in payments.

For all of 2023, one firmed reported receiving more than $10 million: Capitol Advocacy (nearly $10.2 million). Two more firms reported receiving more than $9 million during that time: California Strategies ($9.9 million) and Axiom Advisors ($9.7 million).

Two more reported receiving more than $8 million: KP Public Affairs ($8.22 million) and Platinum Advisors ($8.2 million). Three more firms reported receiving more than $7 million: Weideman Group (nearly $7.9 million), Townsend Public Affairs (nearly $7.7 million) and Shaw Yoder Antwith Schmelzer & Lange ($7.5 million).

Four more firms reported making more than $5 million: Niemela, Pappas and Associates ($5.2 million), Strategies 360 ($5.1 million), Political Solutions ($5.07 million) and Lang Hansen Giroux & Kidane ($5.07 million). Another five more firms reported making more than $4 million: Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates (nearly $4.99 million), Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni ($4.96 million), Campbell Strategy & Advocacy (nearly $4.9 million), Aaron Read & Associates ($4.6 million) and California Advocates ($4.1 million).

These 17 firms (which reported receiving $4 million or more in 2023) received nearly 38 percent of all payments to lobbying firms during 2023.

Nine additional firms reported receiving more than $3 million in payments last year:

• California Advisors (nearly $3.9 million)
• Sacramento Advocates ($3.6 million)
• Fernandez Jensen Kimmelshue Government Affairs (nearly $3.55 million)
• Joe A. Gonsalves & Son ($3.5 million)
• Edelstein, Gilbert, Robson & Smith (nearly $3.4 million)
• Carpenter Garcia Sievers ($3.2 million)
• Caliber Strategies ($3.14 million)
• Governmental Advocates ($3.1 million)
• Carter, Wetch & Associates (more than $3 million; this figure represents only the first three quarters of 2023 as Cal-Access has not posted a Q4 disclosure for Carter, Wetch)

The 26 firms that made $3 million or more in 2023 received nearly 48 percent of all payments to lobbying firms in 2023.

An additional 18 firms reported receiving more than $2 million in payments in 2023:

• Arc Strategies ($2.97 million)
• McHugh Koepke Padron Government Relations ($2.81 million)
• Resolute (nearly $2.8 million)
• The Gualco Group ($2.727 million)
• Capitol Advisors Group ($2.726 million)
• Manatt, Phelps & Phillips ($2.7 million)
• Actum (nearly $2.7 million)
• Miller Cespedes and Associates (nearly $2.63 million)
• Lighthouse Public Affairs (nearly $2.62 million)
• Public Policy Advocates (nearly $2.6 million)
• Cruz Strategies (more than $2.5 million)
• Aprea & Company (nearly $2.5 million)
• Buchalter (nearly $2.4 million)
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (more than $2.2 million)
• Samson Advisors (nearly $2.13 million)
• Capitol Strategies Group (nearly $2.12 million)
• Kate Bell Strategies (nearly $2.1 million)
• Kahn, Soares, & Conway (more than $2 million)

The 44 firms that made $2 million or more last year received nearly 63 percent of all payments to lobbying firms in 2023.

An additional 31 firms reported receiving more than $1 million in payments last year.

• Hurst Brooks Espinosa ($1.9 million)
• Norwood Associates (nearly $1.9 million)
• Omni Government Relations ($1.84 million)
• Capitol Strategic Advisors ($1.82 million)
• Balance Public Relations & Strategic Solutions (nearly $1.82 million)
• Nossaman (nearly $1.8 million)
• Mosaic Solutions and Advocacy (nearly $1.7 million)
• Greenberg Traurig (nearly $1.6 million)
• California Advocacy ($1.5 million)
• Rostrum (nearly $1.4 million)
• Capitol Connection (nearly $1.35 million)
• Pinnacle Advocacy (more than $1.33 million)
• The Law Offices of Alberto Torrico ($1.32 million)
• Houston Magnani and Associates (nearly $1.3 million)
• Kester/Pahos (more than $1.26 million)
• School Services of California (nearly $1.24 million)
• Murdock Walrath & Holmes (more than $1.22 million)
• Capitol Partners (nearly $1.22 million)
• WPSS Group (nearly $1.21 million)
• Fanslau Government Affairs (nearly $1.2 million; this figure represents only the first three quarters of 2023 as Cal-Access has not posted a Q4 disclosure for Fanslau)
• Politico Group (more than $1.15 million; this figure represents only the first three quarters of 2023 as Cal-Access has not posted a Q4 disclosure for the Politico Group)
• Noteware Government Relations (more than $1.11 million)
• West Coast Advisors (more than $1.1 million)
• CA Lobby (more than $1.1 million)
• Third House (nearly $1.1 million)
• Reeb Government Relations (nearly $1.1 million)
• Renne Public Policy Group (nearly $1.1 million)
• Valencia Government Relations (nearly $1.03 million)
• Khouri Consulting (more than $1.02 million)
• Ellison Wilson Advocacy (nearly $1.02 million)
• The Apex Group (more than $1.01 million)

The 75 firms that made more than $1 million last year received more than 76 percent of all payments to lobbying firms in 2023.

An additional 178 firms reported receiving six figures in payments over the course of last year. An additional 93 firms reported receiving five figures in 2023.