$70 million flows to a beefed up Annapolis lobbying corps

The top 10 highest earning lobbyists in the state earned slightly more as a group in the last year but saw their share  of compensation decrease as the size of the state’s lobbying corps surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

The 701 lobbyists who registered with the Maryland State Ethics Commission for the most recent year that runs Nov. 1, 2022 to Oct. 31, 2023 is more than the total registered before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in the lobbying corps was accompanied by a nearly 7% increase in compensation to lobbyists overall, according to the most recent report from the state ethics panel.

Nearly 200 lobbyists reported earnings of at least $50,000. That is up from 180 the year before.

Those 195 lobbyists took in more than $65.8 million or roughly 93 cents of every dollar reported as compensation to lobbyists.

One year ago, those reporting compensation of at least $50,000 accounted for nearly 94 cents of every dollar spent on lobbying.

The top 10 earners in the Maryland lobbying corps captured about 29 cents of every dollar spent, in the reporting period. That represents a nearly 2.5% increase year over year.

A dozen lobbyists — nine men and three women — reported earning at least $1 million, an increase of one over the previous year.

Six of those — five men and one woman — reported compensation of at least $1.9 million.

One lobbyist, Timothy Perry, reported nearly $3.9 million in earnings, an increase of more than 11% year over year. Perry finished the previous year first in reported earnings with nearly $3.5 million.

Perry, a partner at Perry White Ross and Jacobson, is an attorney and former chief of staff to the late Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D).

Three others — Gerard E. Evans and Lisa Harris Jones, and Michael Johansen — reported more than $2 million each in earnings. A year earlier, five lobbyists reported earnings of between $2 million and $3 million.

In all, 69 lobbyists — nearly 10% of the 701 registered with the ethics commission — reported earnings of at least $250,000.

Earnings for those 69 totaled more than $51.6 million.

Lobbyists earning $500,000 or more for the year covered in the report include:

• Timothy Perry $3,876,095.92
• Gerard Evans $2,643,597.50
• Lisa Harris Jones $2,333,850.00
• Michael Johansen $2,035,301.00
• Gregory Proctor Jr. $1,963,078.20
• Bruce Bereano $1,903,582.50
• Jonas Jacobson $1,768,500.00
• Frank Boston, III $1,530,064.00
• Delora Ifekauche $1,411,849.85
• Sushant Sidh $1,242,220.00
• David Carroll Jr. $1,221,426.00
• Hannah Garagiola $1,067,151.59
• J. Steven Wise $911,751.00
• Joseph Bryce $881,750.00
• Nicholas Manis $863,200.00
• John Stierhoff $858,600.00
• Patrick J. Hogan $833,783.80
• Joel Rozner $826,120.00
• Josh White $805,399.79
• John Reith $802,804.00
• John Favazza $757,200.00
• Robert Garagiola $732,828.51
• Danna Kauffman $722,936.00
• William Kress $680,999.96
• Bryson Popham $671,874.00
• Ivan Lanier $668,800.00
• D. Robert Enten $650,488.28
• Jason Weintraub $621,782.32
• Bernie Marczyk $621,143.79
• Caitlin McDonough $617,870.00
• Andrea Mansfield $598,500.00
• John Pica Jr. $585,703.00
• Brett Lininger $577,065.00
• Sarah Peters $568,359.37
• Marta Harting $545,905.00
• Michael Arrington $514,750.00

Top lobbying firms

Nearly two-thirds of all compensation for lobbying — roughly $45.7 million — went to 16 firms during the reporting period.

• Perry White Ross & Jacobson $7,029,406.78
• Rifkin Weiner Livingston LLC $5,279,979.53
• Harris Jones & Malone $3,879,269.50
• Cornerstone Government Affairs $3,381,802.23
• Evans & Associates, LLC $3,572,437.62
• Manis Canning & Associates $3,129,550.24
• Compass Government Relations Partners, LLC $2,930,362.12
• Capitol Strategies, LLC $2,659,897.82
• Venable LLP $2,186,864.73
• Schwartz, Metz, Wise & Kauffman, P.A. $2,049,378.52
• G.S. Proctor & Associates, Inc. $2,053,743.68
• Office of Bruce C. Bereano $1,953,438.33
• Kress Hammen Government Affairs $1,587,699.93
• Law Office of Frank D. Boston, III $1,550,493.94
• Gordon Feinblatt LLC $1,396,441.79
• Public Policy Partners $1,014,390.00

Where the money comes from

Nearly 1,500 businesses spent $77.6 million on lobbying during the reporting period, according to the ethics commission report.

Included in that are 539 businesses, trade groups, unions and associations that reported spending at least $50,000 on such efforts. That group combined to spend more than $57 million on lobbying in the reporting year.

Three companies with current or former ties to Exelon landed in the top ten for lobbying expenditures in Maryland.

Topping the list was Constellation Energy Generation, which spent more than $735,000 in the period that included the 2023 legislative session. The company was spun off from Exelon in 2022.

Pepco Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Exelon, spent nearly $648,000 during the period.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, an Exelon company, bookended the top 10 list spending nearly $444,000.

Entities that spent the most on lobbying during the reporting period include:

• Constellation Energy Generation $735,806.52
• Johns Hopkins $661,364.60
• Maryland Jockey Club (Pimlico, Laurel, and Rosecroft race tracks) $650,527.41
• Pepco Holdings, Inc. $647,813.06
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield $644,907.04
• Maryland Association of Realtors $586,900.54
• Northeast Maglev, LLC, $574,777.11
• Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce $483,074.48
• Maryland Chamber of Commerce $472,915.63
• Baltimore Gas and Electric Company $443,982.50