Atlanta Unfiltered

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By JIM WALLS

(Last updated Dec. 16, 2016)

Unraveling campaign finance and lobbyist spending reports can be difficult if you don’t know the lingo.

Trade associations frequently create political action committees (PACs) with names that mask, intentionally or not, the special interests behind them. The Committee for Responsible Health Care Policy, for instance, represents the Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists.

Others are known only by obscure acronyms when politicians disclose donations from them. Some — such as the Georgia Highway Contractors Association and the Georgia Healthcare Association — use the same acronym.

So, as The Transparency Project continues to shine a light on special interests’ influence on public policy in Georgia, we’ve compiled this quick guide to who’s who among the PACs (and some donors that are registered as independent committees or not at all). This is a work in progress; we will continue to add information as we can to show who their lobbyists are, which politicians they favor, and what bills or contracts most interest them. Your contributions, corrections and comments are welcome.

Acronym or Nickname/Full name/Special interest/Lobbyist(s)

ABATE of Georgia / American Bikers Active Toward Education / motorcyclists / Joey Brush (until his May 2015 death in a traffic accident)

ABC PAC / Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia

ACEC / American Council of Engineering Companies / Michael Sullivan

AIA-SEINSPAC / American Insurance Association / Robert Potter, Ronald Jackson

ALAG-PAC / Assisted Living Association of Georgia / Stephen Neff

ALFA / Assisted Living Federation of America, now known as the Georgia Senior Living Association / Callie Michael

ALLPAC / Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals (also occasionally used to refer to Allstate Insurance Co.’s PAC) / Timothy Kibler, Monty Veazey, John Parker

ASC (formerly known as SURGPAC) / Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgical Centers / outpatient surgery / Lasa Joiner, Travis Lindley

Aycox & Aycox Clayton Inc., Rod Aycox (associated with Select Management Resources, below) / title pawn lenders / Chandler Haydon, Owen Graham Thompson, Raymon White

BEVPAC / Georgia Beverage Association / Kevin Perry

Blue PAC / BlueCross BlueShield / Mark Middleton, Bruce Bowers, Lewis Massey, John Watson, Amy Odum, Caroline Womack, Hunter Towns, Nicholas Dejong, Rusty Sewell, Mary Margaret Woodroof

BOMA / Building Owners & Managers Association of Atlanta / Brandy Mitcham, Bryan Fiveash, Haydon Stanley

BPAC, Builders PAC / Home Builders Association of Georgia

CAA / Conditioned Air Association / Bruce Widener

CARD of Georgia / Committee of Automobile Retail Dealers of Georgia (political action committee of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association) / William Morie, Rebecca Greener, John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit

CBA / Community Bankers Association of Georgia

CCA / Corrections Corporation of America / private prisons / Pete Robinson, Ragen Marsh, Robb Willis, John Clayton, Allan Hayes, Jerry Lankford, Brad Regens

CCAE4KIDS / Cobb County Association of Educators

CCE / Coca-Cola Enterprises / bottlers

Centene Management / parent company of the Peach State Health Plan, which contracts to run Medicaid and other state-funded benefits programs / Ray Williams, Wendi Clifton

Citizens and Taxpayers PAC / Post, Buckley, Schub and Jernigan Inc. (PBS&J)

Citizens for Transportation Mobility / Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

Civil Justice PAC / Georgia Trial Lawyers Association

ClerkPAC / Superior Court Clerks of Georgia

Committee for Affordable Workplace Housing / see GAHC

Committee for Responsible Health Care Policy  / see GSA

Community Bank Employees for Better Government / Community Bankers Association of Georgia

Consumer Credit People for Responsible Government / see GILA

CSA / Construction Suppliers Association

CTAG / Cable Television Association of Georgia / Shawn Davis, Rusty Sewell

CUPAC / Georgia Credit Union League

CWA / Communications Workers of America / Eric Richardson, Rita Ann Scott, Anthony Tilley

DOCPAC / The Doctors Co. / malpractice insurance

DRIVE / Democrats, Republicans, Independent Voter Education / Teamsters Union

Employee Non-Partisan Committee for Better Government / Coca-Cola Enterprises

ForestPAC / Georgia Forestry Association

ForPAC, Forestar Committee for Responsible Government / Forestar Group Inc. (real estate and timber)

Free and Strong America PAC / former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney

Freedom First PAC / former Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty

The Fund for Georgia’s Future / see J.L. Morgan Co. Inc.

GACA / Georgia Addiction Counselors Association

GACCP / Georgia Association of Community Care Providers

GACS / Georgia Association of Convenience Stores / Jim Tudor

GACTE / Georgia Association for Career & Technical Education / Matthew Gambill

GADA / Georgia Automobile Dealers Association / William F. Morie, John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit

GAE / Georgia Association of Educators / Tracey-Ann Nelson, Calvine Rollins

GAHC / Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition (aka Committee for Affordable Workplace Housing) / tax credits for construction of low-income housing / Jet Toney

GAHU  / Georgia Association of Health Underwriters / Don Bolia, Laura Norton, Joseph Young

GA-MD PAC / Georgia Medical Directors Association

GAMFT / Georgia Association for Marriage and Family Therapy / Aubrey Villines

GAMOA / Georgia Amusement and Music Operators Association / Les Schneider, Robb Willis, Samantha Hill, Sheila Humberstone

GAMPAC / Medical Association of Georgia

GAMPAC, located at 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 985, Atlanta / acronym for the newly renamed (in 2011) Georgia Association of Manufacturers, which was formerly known as the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association, and before that as the Georgia Textile Manufacturers Association, both known as TIPAC for short

GANA / Georgia Association of Nurse Anesthetists / Monty Veazey

GAP ACT / Georgia Association of Psychologists

GAPB / Georgia Association of Professional Bondsmen / Beverly Iseghohi

GAPCIC / Georgia Association of Property & Casualty Insurance Companies / Emily Bagwell

GAPPS / Georgia Association of Professional Process Servers / Rusty Sewell

GAQPHE / Georgia Association for Quality For-Profit Higher Education

GARDE / Georgia Association for Risk Reduction and Defensive Driver Education / Barry Schrenk

GARPAC / Georgia Association of Realtors / Keith Hatcher, John Barbour, Mary Ann Langford, Jennifer Lundy, Mark Middleton

GATA / Georgia Athletic Trainers Association / John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit

GAUD-Pac / Georgia Academy of Audiology / Stanley Jones, Helen Sloat

GBAGC / Associated General Contractors of Georgia / Mike Dunham, Mark Woodall

GCAE / Gwinnett County Association of Educators

GCAPP / Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention / Mary Frances Williams

GCAA / Georgia Construction Aggregate Association (formerly Stone PAC)

GCUA / Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, support group for the Georgia Credit Union League

GCV / Georgia Conservation Voters

GDA / Georgia Drilling Association, aka Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals (previously known as the Georgia Well Drillers Association), based at P.O. Box 1928, Duluth, GA 30096 / not to be confused with the Georgia Dental Association (which does a different kind of drilling) / Bruce Widener

GDA / occasionally used to represent the Georgia Dental Association, based at 7000 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA, 30328 / not to be confused with the Georgia Drilling Association / Martha Phillips, Francis Capaldo, Jessica Dubois, Nelda Greene, Fatimot Lapido, Courtney Layfield, Stephanie Lotti, Melana McClatchey

GEMPAC / Georgia Emergency Medicine PAC / Georgia College of Emergency Physicians

Georgia Association of Manufacturers, which was formerly known as the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association, and before that as the Georgia Textile Manufacturers Association, both known as TIPAC for short / George Bowen, Charles Jones

Georgia Better Government Fund / Georgia Apartment Association / Bryan Fiveash, Derek Norton, Penelope Joy Round, Haydon Stanley

Georgia Communities for Growth (previously known as Friends of Arts and Culture) / public support for the arts

Georgia Crown Distributing Co. (CEO is Donald M. Leebern Jr., member of the state Board of Regents) / liquor distributors

Georgia Fund for Healthcare Leadership / Georgia Association of HMOs / Owen Thompson

GeorgiaLink Public Affairs Group (Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit, John Bozeman et al) / lobbying firm

Georgia Medical Eye PAC / Georgia Society of Ophthalmology / Lasa Joiner, Hugh McNatt, Travis Lindley

Georgia Ortho PAC / Georgia Orthopaedic Association / Don Bolia, Laura Norton

Georgia Retail Spirits Council/ Georgia Alcohol Dealers Association / Stony McGill

Georgia Transportation Alliance / Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Georgia360 LLC / lobbying firm

Georgia Wholesalers for Better Government / Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association / Chet Bryant, Bryan Fiveash, Haydon Stanley, Kathleen Bennett

GFIA / Georgia Food Industry Association / Kathy Kuzava

GHCA / Georgia Health Care Association (formerly known as the Georgia Nursing Home Association), based at 160 Country Club Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281 / nursing homes

GHCA-GAPA PAC / Georgia Highway Contractors Association & Georgia Asphalt & Paving Association, based at 2160 Satellite Blvd., Duluth, GA 30097

GIADA / Georgia Independent Automotive Dealers Association

GILA PAC / Georgia Installment Lenders Association, formerly the Georgia Industrial Loan Association / runs the Consumer Credit People for Responsible Government PAC / lobbyist is Monty Veazey

GLA / Georgia Limousine Association

GMA / Georgia Municipal Association

GMPAC / General Motors

GNHA / Georgia Nursing Home Association (now known as the Georgia Health Care Association)

GPF / Georgia Poultry Federation

GPhA (formerly known as Pharm PAC) / Georgia Pharmacy Association

GPhS / Georgia Pharmaceutical Services Inc. / Academy of Independent Pharmacy, affiliated with the Georgia Pharmacy Association

GRA / Georgia Retail Association

GRADPAC / Georgia Radiological Society

GSA Committee for Responsible Health Care Policy / Georgia Society of Anesthesiologists

GSH PAC / Georgia Speech-Language-Hearing Association

GSIPP / Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians

GSLA / Georgia Senior Living Association (until 2013, known as the Georgia Assisted Living Federation of America)

GTLA / Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (also known once upon a time as LAW PAC)

GUCA / Georgia Utility Contractors Association

GVMA PAC / Georgia Veterinary Medical Association

GYN PAC / Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecological Society / Patricia Cota

HCA Georgia / Hospital Corporation of America

Host PAC / Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association

HotelPac / Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association

IBEW / International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

IFAPAC / Georgia Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

IIA of GA / Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia

ILA COPE / International Longshoremen’s Association

I-PAC / Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia

IP-PAC / International Paper Co.

IUPAT / International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

J.L. Morgan Co. Inc. / lobbyist Jay Morgan, former executive director of the Georgia Republican Party

JM Family Enterprises Inc. / automobile dealer, distribution and financing

Leebern, Donald M., Jr., CEO of Georgia Crown Distributing Co. and member of the state Board of Regents / liquor distributors

LOG PAC / Southeastern Wood Producers Association

MAC PAC / Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

MAG Mutual Insurance Co. / medical malpractice / John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit, Joseph Cregan, David Hayes, Andrew Owen

MBAG Good Government Fund / Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia / Mo Thrash, John Haliburton

MBNA / formerly Maryland Bank N.A., now owned by Bank of America

McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP / lobbyists

MMV Alliance Fund / former House Speaker Glenn Richardson

NAIOP Georgians for Smart Growth / National Association of Industrial and Office Properties

NAMIC / National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies / Elizabeth Reynolds

NFIB-Georgia Safe Trust / National Federation of Independent Businesses / Thomas Culligan, Kyle Jackson

NMRS / Nelson, Mullins, Riley, Scarborough, LLP / lobbying firm

NRA / National Rifle Association / Raymon White, Daniel Carey

OAAG / Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia / John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit, Conner Poe

ODE PAC / Organization of DeKalb Educators

PACE (Political Action for Candidate Election) / National Association of Social Workers / Wendi Clifton

PAGE / Professional Association of Georgia Educators / Sean Devetter, Tim Callahan, Margaret Ciccarelli, Jill Hay, Allene Magill, Josh Stephens

PAs for Healthcare Access / Georgia Association of Physician Assistants / Thomas Bauer

PCI / Property Casualty Insurers Association of America

Pecos Inc. / construction contractor owned by ex-Sen. Eugene “Chip” Pearson

People PAC / Georgians with Disabilities

Perdue PAC / former Gov. Sonny Perdue

Pharm PAC / Georgia Pharmacy Association / Cindy Shepherd

PhRMA / Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America / John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit, Samuel Dumas, Brian Feldman, Xarmen Vega, Jennifer Wilson

PIAG PAC / Printing and Imaging Association of Georgia

PROPAC / Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia / Jerry Duke

Pruitt Corp. (associated with United Health Services of Georgia PAC, Toccoa, Ga., see below) / nursing homes

Real PAC / Gov. Nathan Deal

RSMCA / Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors of Georgia, Don Bolia, Laura Lindsey, Joseph Young

SAMPAC / Surveying and Mapping Society of Georgia / Steven Neff

SEIU / Service Employees International Union

Select Management Resources LLC (associated with Aycox and Aycox Clayton Inc., above) / title pawn lenders / Raymon White, Pete Robinson, Robb Willis, James McDonald, Lawrence Bell, Jerry Keen, Ragen Marsh

SFAPAC / State Farm Insurance / Robert Potter

Stone PAC / Georgia Crushed Stone Association

SURGPAC (now known as ASC PAC) / Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers / Lasa Joiner, Travis Lindey

SURGPAC (the one based in Stockbridge, and formerly Cartersville) / Georgia Society of General Surgeons

TDAG / Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia

TINPAC / Temple-Inland Inc.

TIPAC / Traditional Industry Political Action Committee (formerly the Textile Industry Political Action Committee) / Richard Royal

Troutman Sanders LLP / lobbyists

TSYS PAC / Total System Services Inc., formerly majority-owned by Synovus Bank / financial services / Pete Robinson, Robb Willis, Sheila Humberstone, Ragen Marsh

UAPRN PAC / United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia

UFCW / United Food and Commercial Workers / Mary Lou Romaine-Waymer

United Health Services of GA PAC, Toccoa, Ga. (associated with Pruitt Corp., above; not to be confused with United HealthCare Services of Minneapolis) / nursing homes / Chuck McMullen, Christopher Downing

United HealthCare Services, Minneapolis, Minn. / one of two claims administrators for the State Health Benefits Plan for state workers and retirees / Ben Vinson, Abigail Vail

USEA / United School Employees Association

UPSPAC / United Parcel Service / John Bozeman, Skin Edge, Trip Martin, Boyd Pettit

UTU PAC / United Transportation Union

Vote Choice / Planned Parenthood of America / Cathy Woolard, Catherine Smith, Christina Swiridowsky

WAL PAC / Wal-Mart / Monesia Brown, Christina Searles Tai

WHI Inc. / Waffle House Inc.

Wholesale Distributors for Good Government / Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Georgia Inc. / Kelly Kirby, Fred Kitchens, Kent Honeyman

WIN PAC / Workplace Injury Network