Kansas lobbying groups organized by expenditure for 2022

There were 165 line items with the purpose of 'gift bag' and 50 line items with the purpose of 'football game'.

TOPEKA (KSNT) - What's in the bag? There were 165 'gift bags' and 50 'football game' gifts given to Kansas legislators in 2022.

In Kansas, expenses related to lobbying must be reported per K.S.A. 46-269. Lobbying is considered activity promoting or opposing action or nonaction on a matter, according to Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission (KGEC) Director Mark Skogland.

In 2022, $287,252.76 was reported in the KEDA Kansas Lobbyist Expenditure report. Of the total amount reported, only $75,209.63 was itemized.

When lobbyists provide recreation, food or beverages at an event, those expenditures can be unitemized if all members of the legislature were invited, if all members of one chamber or all members of one party of the chamber were invited per K.S.A. 46-269(c), according to Skoglund.

"I would not be surprised by such a report," Skoglund said. "Events that invite the entire legislature can have rather sizable recreation, food, beverage costs associated with them."

The annual lobbyist expenditure report must include the costs for items such as food and beverages, gifts and entertainment, according to Skoglund. The purpose of the items must be documented and can vary from axe throwing to hors d'oeuvres.

In 2022, there were 165 line items with the purpose of 'gift bag' and 50 line items with the purpose of 'football game' in the Lobbyist Expenditure Report. According to Skoglund, the contents of such gift bags are not required to be listed on a report. All 'gift bag' line items were reported by the Kansas Development Alliance.

In 2022, the lobbying groups with the most line items in the expense report were the Kansas Medical Society with 253 line items, the Kansas Economic Development Alliance with 165 line items, the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas with 165 line items, the Kansas Bankers Association with 105 line items and Evergy with 94 line items.

List of lobbyist groups ranked by expenditure in 2022:

1. Kansas Bankers Association - $28,810.53
2. Heartland Credit Union Association - $15,750.58
3. Kansas State Council of Fire Fighters - $10,400.88
4. Kansas Cable Telecommunications Association - $10,356.91
5. Kansas Association of Realtors - $10,134.23
6. Kansas Medical Society - $10,086.96
7. Kansas Electric Cooperatives Inc - $9,691.86
8. Evergy - $6,014.53
9. Kansas Pork Association - $5,864.94
10. Kansas Soybean Association - $5,132.40
11. Kansas Livestock Association - $4,656.47
12. Kansas Economic Development Alliance - $4,387.35
13. Kansas Contractors Association - $3,679.49
14. Kansas Hospital Association - $3,633.73
15. Kansas Farm Bureau - $3,607.00
16. Kansas Beer Wholesalers Association - $3,523.04
17. Kansas Grain and Feed Association - $3,317.77
18. Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association - $3,310.60
19. Federico//Duerst Consulting Group - $3,177.98
20. Kansas Bar Association - $3,086.58
21. Kansas Trial Lawyers Association - $2,684.07
22. Kansas Optometric - $2,625.00
23. Western Kansas Rural Development Alliance - $2540.04
24. Cox Communications Inc - $2,518.44
25. League of Kansas Municipalities - $2,515.11
26. Kansas Chamber of Commerce - $2,412.61
27. Kansas Motor Carriers Association - $2391.80
28. Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association - $2,319.00
29. Renew Kansas - $2,314.15
30. Kansas Municipal Utilities Inc - $2,299.08
31. ICT Great Plains - $2,226.87
32. Devine, Donley & Murray Governmental Affairs LLC - $2079.76
33. Kansas Advanced Power Alliance - $2064.87
34. Marathon Health - $1964.70
35. Kansas Sheriff's Association - $1,950.90
36. Travel Industry Association of Kansas - $1,934.00
37. Kansas Peace Officers Association - $1932.52
38. Kansas Cooperative Council - $1853.66
39. Gooch Strategies - $1,827.99
40. State Farm Insurance - $1,790.37
41. Kansas City Board of public utilities - $1,744.13
42. Kansas Manufactured Housing Association - $1,559.70
43. Legislative Policy Group - $1,544.56
44. Realtors of South Central Kansas - $1,517.01
45. Next Era Energy Resources LLC - $1,499.33
46. Kansas Gas Service - $1,297.00
47. Midwest Energy - $1,297.00
48. KEPCO - $1,297.00
49. Sunflower Electric - $1,297.00
50. Liberty Utilities - $1,297.00
51. State Association of Kansas Watershed - $1,189.00
52. Pinegar, Smith & Associates Inc - $1,113.36
53. ONEOK Inc - $1,073.56
54. Curo Financial Technologies Corp - $1029.06
55. Water District No. 1 of Johnson County and Johnson County KS - $991.36
56. Regional Economic Area Partnership - $965.58
57. Salina Regional Health Center - $914.97
58. Kansas Health Care Association - $849.96
59. Summit Strategies Group LLC - $840.40
60. Water District No. 1 of Johnson County - $823.56
61. Lewis Legal News - $800.00
62. Little Government Relations - $782.24
63. LoanMax - $754.47
64. WATCO/Watco Companies - $736.97
65. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation - $653.37
66. Kansas Restaurant & Hospitality Association - $636.37
67. Kansas Trial Lawyers Association - $600.00
68. Kansas Railroad Association - $600.00
69. Teladoc Inc - $599.18
70. Tyson Foods Inc - $500.00
71. Saint Luke's Health System - $469.68
72. The Beneficient Company Group - $473.49
73. The Norton County Community Foundation - $458.76
74. Topeka Justice Unity& Ministry Project - $450.00
75. Kansas Press Association - $439.74
76. Stride, Inc - $394.59
77. Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC and Affiliates - $377.64
78. The Innocence Project - $300.00
79. City of Wichita - $298.49
80. United Healthcare Services - $270.93
81. Sanofi US - $264.28
82. National Rifle Association of America - $217.37
83. Shawnee Mission USD 512 - $270.20
84. Scott Consulting - $210.54
85. City of Lenexa - $167.80
86. Overland Park Chamber of Commerce - $160.00
87. TXM Finance Family of Companies - $139.55
88. Reach Healthcare Foundation - $137.80
89. ONEMAIN Holdings, Inc - $133.88
90. National Council State Boards of Nursing - $130.56
91. Whitney B Damron PA - $125.00
92. Olathe Chamber of Commerce - $110.76
93. SmileDirectClub, LLC - $100.41