From the KY Chamber to Roblox: Who spent big to lobby Kentucky’s legislature?
Hundreds of lobbyists descend on the Kentucky Capitol every year to advocate for their clients during the legislative session.
This year, in a short 30-day session, groups spent more than $8.7 million to influence the General Assembly as it passed 173 bills into law, according to records with the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission. And that was in a less consequential year than the high-stakes 60-day budget sessions that take place during even-numbered years.
Unlike previous years, no one industry dominated the picture, or was the particular reason for high interest in the legislature. In 2023, for comparison, the expensive fight of the session was over so-called “gray machines,” a slot-like game that appeared in convenience stores across the commonwealth.
In 2024, bills centering around power plant regulations drew record spending from energy industry groups. That year, a record $12.4 million was spent over the course of the session – $9.7 million was spent over the same time period measured in this year’s short session.
This year, a variety of groups paid big bucks to advocate for or against various bills.
As has been the case for several years, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce topped all lobbying spenders. The group’s $150,000 spent in the first three months of the year almost doubled every other spender.
The chamber had several priorities, but chief among them was House Bill 1, the bill that affirmed a personal income tax rate cut from 4% to 3.5%.
It also lobbied for House Bill 398, which will shrink the regulatory authority of the Kentucky Department of Workplace Standards. Its Republican sponsor said it would encourage business growth, but Gov. Andy Beshear in his veto — which was ultimately overridden by the legislature — said it would “make Kentuckians less safe in the workplace” and lead to more workplace injuries.
In second for most spent was another mainstay in Frankfort politics: the Kentucky League of Cities. The league spent around $88,000 lobbying the legislature supporting and opposing a variety of measures.
One of the higher-profile bills the league lobbied for was House Bill 520, which made it easier for police to deny certain open records requests pertaining to an investigation.
Instead of having to provide specific evidence to show how releasing a record to the public definitely would imperil an ongoing investigation, as is currently required, police or other public agencies merely would have to say that disclosure could “pose an articulable risk of harm” to them or their pending casework. The bill was softened from a previous version, which made the records request loophole bigger.
Kentucky League of Cities Executive Director/CEO JD Chaney told the Herald-Leader the bill was necessary for local police who might not be able to “prove definitive damages to an investigation 12 hours after an incident occurs.”
Other big priorities for the league, according to Chaney: Enhancing the health insurance benefit to County Employees Retirement System through Senate Bill 10 and stopping the bill that would have centralized local tax payments to one statewide portal.
Another top spender was a little more unorthodox.
Roblox, a hugely popular online platform and gaming app for children, spent $27,000 lobbying the legislature.
Why?
Several bills related to child safety online could have affected them. The enormous platform has been attempting to crack down on child predation – one Bloomberg headline reads “Roblox’s Pedophile Problem” – and a handful of bills focused on that issue this session. Roblox also lobbied on one bill, Senate Bill 4, that regulated certain aspects of artificial intelligence intelligence in Kentucky.
Bob Babbage, a former statewide elected official who runs the lobbying firm Babbage Cofounder, said that he worked this session to help lawmakers better understand the platform.
“Roblox gets categorized like they’re a big Facebook or something and they’re really not. They’re a specialized technology,” Babbage said.
Of the $8.7 million-plus spent on lobbying the legislature, lobbyists themselves were paid about $7.9 million.
The top paid lobbyists through the first three months of the session were Stephen Huffman of HCM Governmental Relations with $307,000; Patrick Jennings of Commonwealth Alliances with $287,000; Babbage, the former Democratic auditor and secretary of state with $233,000; John McCarthy of McCarthy Strategic Solutions made $209,000; and Sean Cutter of MML&K Government Solutions with $186,000.
Here is a full list of all 81 companies and organizations that spent $20,000 or more to lobby the state legislature in the first three months of the year, according to filings with the Legislative Ethics Commission:
KY Chamber of Commerce: $150,114.07
KY League of Cities, Inc.: $86,792.56
KY Hospital Association: $74,298.00
Americans for Prosperity: $65,558.34
KY Retail Federation, Inc.: $65,456.54
LG&E and KU Energy LLC: $57,932.48
Elevance Health and Affiliates DBA Anthem, Inc.: $57,088.67
Greater Louisville, Inc.: $50,900.00
KY Assn. of Electric Cooperatives, Inc.: $46,249.67
KY Bankers Association: $45,702.00
KY Automobile Dealers Assn.: $44,602.90
Altria Client Services LLC: $41,789.96
KY Medical Association: $41,685.09
Humana Inc.: $41,582.00
Suntory Global Spirits: $41,450.00
KY Justice Association: $41,383.35
KY Primary Care Association: $40,500.00
Sazerac Company: $40,336.71
American Civil Liberties Union of KY: $40,297.03
HCA Healthcare, Inc.: $39,162.00
KY Education Association: $39,053.76
KY Distillers’ Assn.: $37,521.82
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: $36,965.39
United Healthcare Services, Inc.: $36,935.62
Churchill Downs Incorporated: $36,919.00
KY Assn. of Counties: $36,904.61
KY Assn. of Manufacturers: $35,975.26
Sierra Club: $35,534.86
Pharmaceutical Research & Manuf. of America: $34,727.00
KY Credit Union League, Inc.: $34,112.35
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of KY, Inc.: $34,075.00
East KY Power Cooperative Inc.: $33,670.79
Fairness Campaign: $33,164.42
AT&T: $32,584.08
Airbnb, Inc.: $32,500.00
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth: $32,239.64
Cincinnati/Northern KY International Airport: $31,727.40
LifePoint Health: $30,000.00
Amazon.com Services, LLC: $29,917.13
KY Assn. of Indep. Recovery Organizations: $29,873.78
KY Health Departments Association: $28,016.25
Catholic Conference of KY: $27,645.00
Coalition for the Homeless: $27,466.25
Google LLC and Its Affiliates: $27,080.91
Logan Aluminum, Inc: $27,000.00
ROBLOX: $27,000.00
Jefferson County Public Schools: $26,515.00
KY Equine Education Alliance: $26,400.22
Seven County Services, Inc.: $26,078.00
Mountain Comprehensive Care Center: $25,500.00
Houchens Industries: $25,400.00
Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer: $25,300.00
KY Assn. of Health Care Facilities: $25,231.74
Diageo North America: $24,677.10
Duke Energy: $24,650.00
Coinbase Inc.: $24,504.00
Keeneland Association, Inc.: $24,113.00
Vapor Technology Assn.: $23,750.00
Charter Communications Operating, LLC: $23,573.10
RAI Services Company: $23,572.00
American Property Casualty Insurance Assn.: $23,338.67
Big Rivers Electric Corporation: $23,317.85
KY State Building & Const. Trades Council: $22,600.00
NextEra Energy Resources, LLC: $22,500.00
Heaven Hill Distilleries: $22,500.00
Frankfort Plant Board: $22,500.00
ECL Entertainment, LLC: $22,500.00
PMI US Corporate Services Inc. and Affiliates: $22,500.00
CVS Health: $21,337.67
The Family Foundation: $21,242.75
Associated General Contractors of KY: $21,163.26
KY Assn. of Health Plans Inc.: $21,027.67
Sports Betting Alliance: $21,000.00
CRH Americas: $21,000.00
Western Hospitality Partners: $21,000.00
KY Youth Advocates, Inc.: $20,866.10
Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition: $20,550.55
KY Farm Bureau Federation: $20,362.19
Humane World for Animals: $20,207.01
NetChoice: $20,000.00
KY Medical Services Foundation, Inc.: $20,000.00
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM.
