Utilities lobbied hard at SC State House. But they weren’t this year’s top spender

A sharp focus on S.C.’s utilities contributed to an onslaught of spending on lobbyists at the S.C. State House this year.

Utilities made up half of the top 10 spenders on lobbying in 2018. Included in the big spenders were multiple players in the ongoing fallout from the collapse of the V.C. Summer nuclear project last year.

But the top spot among spenders for 2018 legislative lobbying goes to the S.C. Hospital Association, which spent $170,533 this year, according to numbers reported to the S.C. Ethics Commission.

Clemson University initially was listed as the biggest spender, reporting $181,058 in lobbying costs to the state. That is more than four times what the University of South Carolina reported spending on its lobbying efforts.

But Clemson moved to amend its filing when asked by The State newspaper why its spending had jumped from $90,500 during the same period in 2017. The higher number that it originally reported was an error, Clemson said.

In all, $10.2 million was spent on lobbying at the State House this year.

Nuclear fallout

Some patterns emerge when you look at who spent the most.

Utilities were some of the most active in lobbying, as lawmakers struggled with how to deal with the multibillion-dollar collapse of a Fairfield County nuclear project under construction by SCANA and Santee Cooper.

SCANA spent $111,876 in lobbying this year. State-owned Santee Cooper dropped $85,471 at the State House.

But the most spent at the State House this year by a utility didn’t come from a power company.

AT&T Services was the second-largest spender, behind the Hospital Association, at $139,148.

The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, now suing Santee Cooper to stop charges related to the nuclear project, came up next at $135,980.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

▪ Duke Energy Carolinas, which serves customers in South Carolina’s Upstate and Pee Dee, spent $118,665

▪ Dominion Energy, the would-be buyer of SCANA., which spent the 2018 legislative session — and $118,104 — fighting efforts by lawmakers to cut SCANA’s electric rates before its sale goes through

▪ NextEra Energy, another utility looking to expand into South Carolina by buying state-owned Santee Cooper, was a little less active but still spent $59,500

The nuclear debacle was not the only issue at play for S.C. utilities.

They also worked, successfully, to defeat efforts to expand the rooftop solar industry in the Palmetto State.

Who’s counting?

Clemson’s No. 1 ranking in spending on lobbying — as the school originally reported — struck The Buzz as unusual. The the school’s administrators had the same reaction.

Asked about the higher-than-normal level of spending, spokesman Mark Land said Clemson had discovered a filing error that ballooned the school’s figures, and would be amending its numbers.

“We attributed the entire salary of our lobbyists” — all of whom are full-time university employees on its communications staff — to lobbying, said Clemson spokesman Land. “Typically, we apply a portion of the salary based on the time they spend lobbying.”

Clemson’s revised report changed the price tag for its lobbying to $68,332.97 from $181,058.

Other organizations use a similar formula to report lobbying efforts by their staff.

The S.C. Hospital Association has one full-time lobbyist — Vicki Parker of Parker Poe Consulting — but also registered other senior staff members who speak to lawmakers as official lobbyists.

“We don’t have a ton of lobbyists,” said Hospital Association spokesman Schipp Ames. “And we only had one legislative function and one dinner this year. But, for the sake of transparency, we had four members of our leadership team register” as lobbyists.

The fourth-largest spender on lobbying overall was the S.C. Municipal Association, at $135,980.

“If anything, we over-report the amount our legislative team spends,” said Reba Campbell, the association’s registered lobbyist and also its deputy executive director. “There’s a lot more than being there face-to-face talking to lawmakers. There’s also a lot of research that goes into it.”

The big issues

The Municipal Association focused its lobbying efforts this year on several items surrounding the state’s 2018-19 general fund budget — from $11 million for beach renourishment to flexibility for some school districts to hire retired police officers as school resource officers. It also pushed for the Department of Transportation to use federal money to move city water and sewer lines when needed, an annoyance for local governments.

“If DOT says, ‘We want to move this bridge,’ and there’s a city utility line that needs to be moved, the city didn’t budget for that, and that holds up DOT,” Campbell said.

The association also opposed a measure that bans sanctuary cities in South Carolina, requiring cities to comply with immigration enforcement — something the association didn’t think was necessary, as there are no sanctuary cities in South Carolina.

Health care interests also were represented heavily in 2018’s lobbying.

Besides the Hospital Association, Palmetto Health spent $85,993 on lobbying, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina spent $77,600, the S.C. Health Care Association spent $75,060 and WellCare of South Carolina spent $72,250.

The Health Care Association’s goals at the Legislature this year included tougher sanctions for violence against health care workers and allowing nurse practitioners to take on more responsibilities, said Ames of the association.

One of the top 20 spenders this year focused its lobbying on a different health-related issue.

Palmetto Medical Cannabis spent $72,500 to support passage of a medical marijuana bill, which ultimately failed to pass.

Biggest spenders on lobbying for 2018 session

▪ S.C. Hospital Association: $170,533

▪ AT&T Services: $139,148

▪ Electric Co-operatives of South Carolina: $135,986

▪ Municipal Association of South Carolina: $135,980

▪ Duke Energy Carolinas: $118,665

▪ Dominion Energy: $118,104

▪ SCANA Corp.: $111,876

▪ Altria Client Services: $91,997

▪ S.C. Manufacturers Alliance: $90,250

▪ Palmetto Health: $85,993

SC’s highest-paid lobbyists

▪ Annie Wilson, Capitol Consultants: $388,285.30

Clients: 3M Co., Accenture LLP, Advanced Drainage Systems, Alzheimer’s Association S.C. Chapter, Amazon.com, American Multi-Cinema, Apartment Holdings, Century Aluminum Mount Holly, Colonial Life, Community Health Solutions of America, Consolidated Multiple Listing Service, Fresenius Medical Care North America, Home Builders Association of S.C., Horry-Georgetown Technical College, Kenneth Shuler Schools of Cosmetology, Luxor Scientific, McLeod Regional Medical Center, Molina Healthcare, North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, Palmetto Paper & Specialties, S.C. Alarm Association, S.C. Animal Legislative Coalition, S.C. Apartment Association, S.C. Captive Insurance Association, S.C. Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, S.C. Chiropractic Association, S.C. Dental Association, S.C. Education Association, S.C. Pharmacy Association, S.C. Recyclers & Dismantlers Association, S.C. State Museum Foundation, S.C. Vending Association, Solar Business Alliance, S.C. Administrative Law Court, S.C. Bail Agents Association, S.C. Collectors Association, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding, the Phoenix Center, the Town of Lexington, the Town of Moncks Corner and Venice LLC

▪ Richard Davis, Capitol Consultants: $387,785.28

Clients: Same as Wilson, also of Capitol Consultants

▪ Dwight Drake, Nelson Mullins: $237,816.77

Clients: Advance America Cash Advance Centers, Altria Client Services, American Progressive Bag Alliance, American Resort Development Association, Apple, AT&T Services, BMW Manufacturing, MillerCoors, NWEA, Santee Cooper, SCRA, Walmart

▪ Lynn Stokes-Murray, McNair Law Firm: $224,079.47

Clients: Advance America Cash Advance Centers, Advantage Capital Partners, American Congress of Obstetricians and Genecology, American Family Life Assurance Co., American International Group, Beaufort Board of Education, Beaufort County Council, Behavioral Health Services of S.C., City of Charleston, Consumer Energy Alliance, Diageo North American, Gileand Sciences, Girl Scouts of S.C., Insurance Auto Auctions, International Paper Co., Interstate Transportation Equipment, JM Family Enterprises, Lafarge North America, Leadingage S.C., Microsoft, National Guard Association of S.C., Palmetto Health, S.C. Health Co., S.C. Military Base Task Force, S.C. Society of Ophthalmology, Variable Annuity Life Insurance.

▪ Tony Denny, Denny Public Affairs: $205,711

Clients: Absolute Total Care, Altria Client Services, Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, Comcast, Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Duke Energy Carolinas, House of Raeford Farms, Intuition Solutions, Municipal Association of S.C., Opportunity Solutions Project, Safelite Group, S.C. State Museum Foundation, S.C. Council on Competitiveness, S.C. Orthopaedic Association, State Tax Credit Exchange, Study Edge, the Timken Co.

▪ Theodore D. Riley, Riley Pope & Laney: $204,283

Clients: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Institute of Architects SC, City of Greenville, Dream Center Education Holdings, Governor’s School for the Arts Foundation, Greenwich Biosciences, NextEra Energy, Pitsco, RoboKind/Robots4Autism, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Save the Children, Save the Children Action Network, S.C. Society of Health-System Pharmacists, S.C. Band Directors Association, S.C. Children’s Hospital Collaborative, S.C. College of Emergency Physicians, S.C. Public Charter School District, UHS of Delaware, WellCare of S.C.

This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Utilities lobbied hard at SC State House. But they weren’t this year’s top spender."