The Austin Chronicle

Top Guns

by Robert Bryce

Photo of lobbyist.
photograph by John Anderson

Only a handful of lobbyists are bold enough (or lucky enough) to command fees of more than $200,000 per client. But the $200,000 figure may be misleading. Many lobbyists over-report their income, often counting the same money twice. For instance, a lobbyist may list getting $10,000 from a client but then that same $10,000 will be included in the sum being paid by his or her law firm, which is also listed. One lobbyist who always shows up on the 200 club is Nicholas Kralj. A couple of years ago, he charged Jack Binion $200,000 to help push a casino gambling bill that went nowhere. This year, he's representing the Texas Trial Lawyers. Although Kralj, a former aide to ex-Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, is frequently listed among the highest paid, he is rarely mentioned in lists of the best lobbyists.

But some of the lobbyists on this list are clearly worth what they are being paid. For instance, three weeks before Gov. George W. Bush's state of the state speech, Gaylord Armstrong, a lead lobbyist at the Austin law firm of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, mentioned that his clients were interested in getting a research tax credit. Sure enough, when Bush gave his speech, one of the items on his agenda was a research tax credit. That's clout.

Listed below are the members of the "200 Club," their clients, and how much those clients are paying, as reported by the Texas Ethics Commission this month. Lobbyists are required to report a range of income they expect from clients.


Kent A. Caperton ($885,000-$2,925,000 )

Winstead, Sechrest & Minick, P.C.

*$200,000-$999,999

Aon Corp.

$200,000-$999,999

Entrecorp

$100,000-$149,999

Association of Electric Cos. of Texas

$50,000-$99,999

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth

$50,000-$99,999

Credit Union Coalition of Texas

$50,000-$99,999

Fasken Oil & Ranch Interests, Ltd.

$50,000-$99,999

Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

$50,000-$99,999

Texas State Technical College Foundation

$50,000-$99,999

Household Financial Group Ltd.

$25,000-$49,999

Small Rural School Finance Coalition

$25,000-$49,999

TX Assn. of Local Housing Finance Agencies

$25,000-$49,999

Fannie Mae

$10,000-$24,999

Pamela M. Giblin ($870,000-$2,395,000)

Baker & Botts, LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Pilgrim's Pride Corp.

$150,000-$199,999

Secured Environmental Mgmt, Inc.

$150,000-$199,999

Albemarle Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

AMD

$10,000-$24,999

Amoco

$10,000-$24,999

ARCO Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

BP Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Capitol Aggregates, Ltd.

$10,000-$24,999

Champion International Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Chevron U.S.A. Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Dow Chemical U.S.A.

$10,000-$24,999

DX Holding Co.

$10,000-$24,999

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Eastman Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Entergy

$10,000-$24,999

Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.

$10,000-$24,999

Equistar Chemicals, L.P.

$10,000-$24,999

Exxon

$10,000-$24,999

GB Biosciences Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Global Octanes Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Houston Lighting & Power Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Huntsman Chemical Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Lyondell-Citgo Refining Co. LP

$10,000-$24,999

Mobil Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Motorola Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Occidental Chemical Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Phillips Petroleum Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Rohm and Haas Texas, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Shell Chemical Co./Shell Oil Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Simpson Paper Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Solutia, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Temple Inland

$10,000-$24,999

Texas Instruments, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

The Coastal Corporation

$10,000-$24,999

Union Carbide Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Union Pacific Railroad Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Valero Energy Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Baytank Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

GATX Terminals Corp.

$0.01-$9,999

Intercontinental Terminals Co.

$0.01-$9,999

Oil Tanking Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Pakhoed Corp.

$0.01-$9,999

PetroUnited Terminals, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Stolthaven Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Larry Feldcamp ($570,000-$2,005,000)

Baker & Botts, LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Albemarle Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

AMD

$10,000-$24,999

Amoco

$10,000-$24,999

BP Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Champion International Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Dow Chemical U.S.A.

$10,000-$24,999

DX Holding Co.

$10,000-$24,999

E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Eastman Chemical Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Entergy

$10,000-$24,999

Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.

$10,000-$24,999

Equistar Chemicals, L.P.

$10,000-$24,999

Exxon

$10,000-$24,999

GB Biosciences Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Global Octanes Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Houston Industries

$10,000-$24,999

Huntsman Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Lyondell Chemical Worldwide, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Lyondell-Citgo Refining Co. LP

$10,000-$24,999

Mobil Oil Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Motorola Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Occidental Chemical Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Phillips Petroleum Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Port Of Houston Authority

$10,000-$24,999

Rohm and Haas Texas, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Shell Chemical Co./Shell Oil Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Simpson Paper Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Solutia, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

Temple Inland

$10,000-$24,999

Texas Instruments, Inc.

$10,000-$24,999

The Coastal Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Union Carbide Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Union Pacific Railroad Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Valero Energy Corp.

$10,000-$24,999

Baytank Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

GATX Terminals Corp.

$0.01-$9,999

Intercontinental Terminals Co.

$0.01-$9,999

Oil Tanking Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Pakhoed Corp.

$0.01-$9,999

PetroUnited Terminals, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

ST Services

$0.01-$9,999

Stolthaven Houston, Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Gaylord Armstrong ($620,000-$1,800,000)

McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Exxon Co. U. S. A.

$100,000-$149,999

General Electric Capital Corp.

$50,000-$99,999

Solutia, Inc.

$50,000-$99,999

Texas Instruments, Inc.

$50,000-$99,999

Administaff

$25,000-$49,999

American Express Co.

$25,000-$49,999

H. E. Butt Grocery Co.

$25,000-$49,999

Texas Cable & Telecommunication Assn.

$25,000-$49,999

Texas Funeral Directors Assn.

$25,000-$49,999

Texas Society Of Architects

$25,000-$49,999

DeHart and Darr

$10,000-$24,999

Northwestern Resources Co.

$10,000-$24,999

Nicholas K. Kralj ($525,000-$1,600,000)

Texas Trial Lawyers Assn.

$200,000-$999,999

Metro. National Corp.

$100,000-$149,999

Chicago Title Insurance Co.

$50,000-$99,999

Independent Title Assn.

$50,000-$99,999

Lawyers Title Insurance Corp.

$50,000-$99,999

Multimedia Games, Inc.

$50,000-$99,999

Galveston Assn. for Medical Education

$25,000-$49,999

Robert Strauser ($425,000-$1,480,000)

Baker & Botts, LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris Co.

$50,000-$99,999

Texas Self-Insurance Association

$50,000-$99,999

American Automobile Association

$25,000-$49,999

City of Laredo

$25,000-$49,999

San Antonio Water System

$25,000-$49,999

Texas Assn. of Property Tax Professionals

$25,000-$49,999

Texas Cemeteries Association

$25,000-$49,999

Bailey, John

$0.01-$9,999

Hoffman-LaRoche Inc.

$0.01-$9,999

Houston Lighting & Power Company

$0.01-$9,999

Shannon H. Ratliff ($450,000-$1,450,000)

McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Exxon Co. U. S. A.

$100,000-$149,999

Independent Insurance Agents of Texas

$50,000-$99,999

Texas Civil Justice League

$50,000-$99,999

Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas

$50,000-$99,999

Gary D. Compton ($450,000-$1,350,000)

Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP*

$200,000-$999,999

Pioneer Natural Resources Inc.

$150,000-$199,999

Conoco, Inc.

$100,000-$149,999

W. James Jonas III ($310,000-$1,175,000)

Metabolife International, Inc.

$200,000-$999,999

Wackenhut Corrections Corp.

$100,000-$149,999

Citigroup

$10,000-$24,999

Dan R. Robertson ($250,000-$1,100,000)

Atlantic Richfield Co./ARCO Permian

$200,000-$999,999

ARCO Pipe Line Co.

$50,000-$99,999

Johnnie B. Rogers Jr. ($200,000-$999,999)

Bicameral Consultants, Inc. (lobby firm)

$200,000-$999,999

Joe Bill Watkins ($200,000-$999,999)

Vinson & Elkins*

$200,000-$999,999


* law firm and primary employer

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