Let’s take a look at lobbyist spending in Kentucky again.

Leading spenders from May 1 through August 31:

• Altria Client Services spent $92,173
• Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent $87,317
• National Popular Vote Initiative spent $60,000
• CSX Corp. spent $48,038
• Houchens Industries spent $44,000
• Kentucky medical Association spent $36,864
• Swedish Match North America spent $34,650
• AmeriGroup Corp. spent $34,046
• Kentucky Justice Association spent $31,630
• Churchill Downs spent $30,381
• National Tobacco Co. spent $30,236
• SAS Institute spent $27,333
• Jefferson County Public Schools spent $26,137
• Necco spent $26,017
• Microsoft Corp. spent $26,000

Tons of cash was spent on dinners and parties at conferences and other events:

• Employers and lobbyists dropped a whopping $26,000 on “Kentucky Night” receptions and dinners for Kentucky legislators and their staff at the Southern Legislative Conference, American Legislative Exchange Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
• Kentucky Credit Union League spent $2,700 on breakfast at NCSL in San Antonio
• Cash America International & Kentucky Deferred Deposit Association spent $2,337 at ALEC at a restaurant in New Orleans
• RAI Services (Reynolds America) spent $800 at SLN in Memphis for a golf tournament
• Churchill Downs spent $5,101 on Downs After Dark
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medial Center spent $970 on a golf outing and dinner
• The Insurance Institute of Kentucky and State Auto Insurance spent $362 at NCIL
• Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent $2,420 at the Business and Economic Summit in Louisville
• Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation spent $4,340 on the Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast and Picnic
• Kentucky Malt Beverage Council spent $600 on a lunch
• Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent $1,575 on a Belle of Cincinnati riverboat cruise for an event co-sponsored by AT&T, Duke Energy, Fidelity Investments, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Northern Kentucky Convention Center

You’ll probably want to read the rest after the jump…

Let’s take a look at the big dogs when it comes to annual spending:

• Altria leads the pack with $215,973
• Kentucky Chamber of Commerce spent $186,796
• Kentucky Medical Association spent $108,279
• National Popular Vote Initiative spent $97,500
• Houchens Industries spent $88,000
• Kentucky Optometric Association spent $83,468
• Consumer Healthcare Products spent $83,333
• Kentucky Bankers Association spent $69,106
• Kentucky Hospital Association spent $76,783
• Swedish Match North America spent $69,300
• Kentucky Justice Association spent $69,106
• AmeriGroup Corp. spent $66,046
• AT&T spent $65,751
• All Things Good spent $65,000
• Kentucky Association of Manufacturers spent $64,389

There are several newly-registered employers and a few that have terminated their lobbying registration.

Newly registered:

• Daymar Colleges Group (this makes Jack Conway furious)
• Fidelity Express
• WellCare of Kentucky
• University Health Care (Passport)
• Wipro Infocrossing

Seven stopped lobbying:

• Big Blue Reporters
• Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board
• Hosparus
• Infinite Campus
• Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Co.
• Oak Grove Village
• R.A.M.M. Technologies

All of this may or may not be why Kentucky can’t have nice things.