More than $8.25 mil spent lobbying in Frankfort

Corporations and other groups spent more than $8.25 million lobbying the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly.

And of the approximately 650 groups registered to lobby in Frankfort, the one that spent the most on lobbying was so far this year was $156,200 spent by tobacco giant Altria, parent of Philip Morris USA.

That money appears to be a good investment. The 2014 session saw efforts to raise tobacco taxes fail. It also saw the defeat of the statewide ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces.

Here are the corporations and groups which reported spending the most to lobby the General Assembly during the 2014 session, according to data just posted on the website of the Legislative Ethics Commission. Most all of this money spent by the listed organization as fees it paid to its lobbyists which worked the hallways in Frankfort.

(Note: The $8.25 million spent on lobbying could inch upward as a few delinquent reports are filed with the ethics commission.)

Altria Client Services, (Philip Morris USA), Richmond, Va., $156,200

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Frankfort, $128,434

Kentucky Hospital Association, Louisville, $97,850

Kentucky Medical Association, Louisville, $83,498

AT&T, Louisville, $75,075

Kentucky Bankers Association, Louisville, $72,320

Norton Healthcare, Louisville, $68,900

Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, Louisville, $68,821

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, London, $67,546

Kentucky Justice Assn., Louisville, $66,348

Kentucky Retail Federation, Frankfort, $65,984

Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC, $65,605

Kentucky League of Cities, Lexington, $65,548

Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, Louisville, $60,948

Home Builders Association of Kentucky, Frankfort, $60,948

Source: Legislative Ethics Commission