Groups looking to sway decisions in Frankfort spent a record-breaking amount of money lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024.
Almost 900 groups overall contributed to the $28.1 million spent on attempting to influence Kentucky lawmakers. That’s an increase from roughly $25.5 million during the 2023 legislative session.
Organizations including the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Hospital Association, and LG&E and KU Energy LLC make up groups that spent over $200,000 each.
The majority of the top-dollar contributors included healthcare organizations and energy groups, according to the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission.
Emily Dennis, executive director of the commission, said that funds spent on lobbying have been on the rise for decades, though the 2024 figure could be a product of the biennial budget session.
“Anytime you have a year that the state budget is at stake, then you can pretty much rest assured that it’s gonna be a busy year in terms of lobbying,” Dennis said.
While the budget session is a large factor in the record-breaking figure, Dennis believes that the funds spent on lobbying could still set another record during the 2025 session. She believes that the rising price of goods and an increased interest from lawmakers in business-making decisions will play a large role.
“What will be interesting to see is if the numbers go up this year or if they contract a little bit in light of the shorter session,” Dennis said.
She believes that with a change in how Kentucky’s government is run, the focus of lobbyists has shifted to educating lawmakers on the needs of a diverse set of organizations across the state.
“You have a legislature that has more power than it did, you know, back in the day when the governor would basically send down his bill and that would be what the legislature would run with. People want to get their cause heard by the legislature,” Dennis said.
Organizations that contributed the most to lobbying efforts were outlined in the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission newsletter.