Data available from the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices reveals what organizations are spending the most money to lobby lawmakers in Augusta — and what they were lobbying them about.
In some cases, organizations appear to have made this list because their lobbying efforts covered a lot of ground, with time and money being spent to weigh in on a large number of issues. In other cases, organizations funneled significant amounts of money toward lobbying either for or against one or two issues.
Regardless of what underlies each organization’s lobbying choices, however, these publicly available records illustrate just how much money is behind the advocacy efforts driving policymakers in Augusta and where exactly it’s coming from.
Although the Ethics Commission records show how much a given company paid for lobbying activity and what bills that activity related to, they don’t show whether the lobbying was in favor or against a given bill – or somewhere in between. In many cases, however, publicly available testimony is indicative of what the non-public lobbying activity likely involved.
Also, while “lobbyist” has become a dirty word in American politics, some lobbying serves a useful purpose in government, especially on complicated or niche issues that Maine’s part-time lawmakers may not fully understand. Lobbyists working for energy companies, chemical companies or hospitals, for example, can offer perspectives and information that lawmakers find helpful when casting votes on substantive issues. In most cases, however, these lobbying expenditures should be viewed as investments that the organizations behind them hope will pay off.
1. Versant Power — $96,520
Having spent a total of $96,520 on lobbying this session, Versant Power – a utility company serving northern and eastern Maine that is a subsidiary of the Canada-based ENMAX Corp. – was the highest-spending organization in Augusta this year.
According to the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices records, Versant Power lobbied legislators concerning a number of bills this session, all of which directly concerned Maine’s energy-related legislation.
Versant reported lobbying efforts related to 34 separate bills this past legislative session. Some common themes among the bills of interest to Versant Power were net energy billing, electric costs, and electric grid infrastructure. They also weighed in on the Pine Tree Power debate, offering testimony in opposition to its establishment.
[RELATED: Portland Socialist Admits “Pine Tree Power” Is About Growing Socialist Party Influence in Maine]
2. Maine Hospital Association — $73,801
As the second biggest spender in Augusta during the legislature’s most recent session, the Maine Hospital Association spent $73,801 lobbying lawmakers. The Maine Hospital Association is a nonprofit that represents 36 hospitals in Maine, most of which are also nonprofits.
The Maine Hospital Association reported lobbying efforts related to 251 different bills this past session, suggesting that the organization’s comparatively high expenditures were likely due to the breadth, as opposed to depth, of their involvement. Much of the lobbying activity conducted by the Maine Hospital Association, much like many other healthcare-related groups, pertains to health insurance and Medicaid policies.
3. Central Maine Power — $59,400
Central Maine Power – the primary power provider for residents of southern and central Maine andsubsidiary of the Spain-based Avangrid- spent $59,400 this year lobbying the Maine State Legislature.
According to their filings, Central Maine Power lobbied lawmakers regarding 84 different bills this past session, largely focusing on legislation related to net energy billing, electric grid infrastructure, and wind power.
Similarly to Versant Power, Central Maine Power also weighed in on the establishment of Pine Tree Power. Unlike Versant, however, Central Maine Power did not offer public testimony on the measure.
4. Comcast — $54,000
Over the course of this past legislative session, Comcast – a major telecommunications company – spent $54,000 lobbying lawmakers in Augusta.
Comcast’s lobbying efforts were spread across eighteen bills this session, among them measures relating to robocalls, online privacy, and telecommunications infrastructure.
5. NextEra Energy Resources –$45,000
$45,000 was spent by NextEra Energy Resources over the course of the past few months lobbying lawmakers in Augusta. NextEra is a Florida-based company that has come under scrutiny in the Sunshine State for using controversial and potentially illegal tactics to affect political policies.
NextEra Energy Resources reported lobbying efforts related “environmental issues,” but the organization did not list any specific bills of interest.
That said, the company’s interest in lobbying Maine’s elected officials likely stems from its ownership of the nuclear power plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire, which supplies a large share of Maine’s electricity. NextEra Energy has been in a years-long dispute with regulators, as well as Central Maine Power, over a plan by New England Clean Energy Connect to construct a transmission line in western Maine that will bring hydroelectric power to customers in other New England states.
6. Maine County Commissioners Association — $42,647
The Maine County Commissioners Association spent a total of $42,647 during the most recent legislative session lobbying lawmakers. The Maine County Commissioners Association provides a networking resource for county governments throughout the state.
These past few months, the association registered lobbying efforts across 50 separate bills. Generally speaking, the organization focused on legislation relating to municipal employees and local law enforcement procedures.
The group also weighed in on two bills concerning Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA). The Maine County Commissioners Association offered testimony in support of LD 1649, a bill aimed at increasing the amount of compensation officials could request for fulfilling records requests. At the same time, the group testified in opposition to LD 1699, which primarily would have required government officials to fulfill FOAA requests within a set period of time.
[RELATED: Maine DHHS Wants $5,000 in Fees to Make Disciplinary Records Public]
7. American Chemistry Council — $42,499.98
Spending a total of of $42,499.98 this past legislative session, the American Chemistry Council is an organization representing 190 chemistry-related businesses that labels itself as promoting “a pro-growth, common sense and science-based public policy agenda.”
Over the past few months, the American Chemistry Council has reported lobbying with relation to 23 pieces of legislation, primarily centered around the use of certain chemicals in manufacturing. Much of this activity centered around bills regarding perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”.
They were also involved in lobbying around issues related to plastics and plastic waste. Specifically, the American Chemistry Council offered testimony in opposition to a bill that would have banned certain kinds of plastic packaging. They also registered as lobbying with relation to a bill that would have lifted the 5-cent fee associated with plastic grocery bags but did not offer public testimony shedding light on their position.
8. Protect Maine Elections — $42,000
Protect Maine Elections – an organization dedicated to preventing foreign government interference in Maine’s elections – spent a total of $42,000 on their lobbying efforts over the course of the past few months.
This past legislative session, Protect Maine Elections only registered lobbying efforts related to two bills – LD 764 and LD 1610 – both of which they supported.
LD 764 simply stated that any legislation related to “direct initiatives” passed during the 131st Legislature’s first session would have an effective date of January 1, 2024.
LD 1610, which was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills (D) after having successfully been approved by both chambers of the legislature, primarily would have prohibited any “foreign government-influenced entity” from influencing Maine’s elections in any manner. The testimony offered by Protect Maine Elections in support of this measure emphasized the bipartisan nature of support for the proposition.
Because Protect Maine Elections only reported lobbying for two bills this session, their presence on this list suggests that the group had a substantial voice in Augusta with relation to the debate over LD 1610.
Whether Central Maine Power and Versant Power would have been impacted by the prohibitions contained in LD 1610 was the topic of great discussion in recent months. Although a representative of Central Maine Power told Maine Public in November of 2022 that he believed the company would not be subject to the bill’s restrictions , Versant Power would likely have been barred from speaking out about referendums as a result of having Canadian-based ownership.
[RELATED: Swiss Billionaire Bankrolls Maine Nonprofits as Maine Liberals Crow About “Foreign Influence”]
9. Maine Health Care Association — $41,750.04
Maine Health Care Association – a trade association representing 200 nursing homes and assisted living/residential care facilities – spent $41,750.04 lobbying lawmakers this past legislative session.
Over the course of the past few months, Maine Health Care Association reported lobbying efforts connected to 11 different bills. Several of these were related to the state budget, while the rest were primarily centered around legislation relating to long-term care facilities.
10. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) — $40,416.65
This past legislative session, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) – an organization representing “the nation’s leading biopharmaceutical research companies – spent a total of $40,416.65 lobbying in Maine.
PhRMA focused their lobbying efforts on three bills this session, all of which were related to prescription drug pricing. The group only offered testimony for two out of the three bills for which they registered lobbying efforts, however. Testimony offered with relation to those two bills indicated an opposition to government price setting for prescription drugs.
The limited scope of PhRMA’s efforts combined with their presence on this list is indicative that PhRMA likely had a loud voice in the conversation in Augusta with regard to prescription drug pricing debates these past few months.
Important Note: Data on the Ethics Commission website shows Juul Labs, Inc. as having spent $728,000 on lobbying this past legislative session, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed that this is result of a substantive typo on the July filing. Instead of reporting $7,000 in expenditures, as they had in previous months, the company reported $700,000. Therefore, Juul Labs, Inc. actually spent $35,000 this past session as opposed to $728,000.
Disclosure: The Maine Wire is a project of the Maine Policy Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that lobbies elected officials in favor of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government. In 2023, the Institute spent $16,946.30 on lobbying, according to Ethics Commission records.
Wow I didn’t know people spend this much on lobbying
I’m surprised to not see Planned Parenthood in this list. With the fight over LD1619 we know PP was involved. How did they hide their lobbying efforts?
According to CNET, Comcast charges different monthly rates for different areas of the nation based on local competition. Here in the northeast you pay the highest rate in the country for the same service as other areas because there’s little competition. $54k spent in lobbying to maintain this monopoly is a bargain. Augusta could fix this but chooses not to… wonder why, could it be the lobbying?.