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Alphabet soup: A guide to special interests in Georgia
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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
2 Responses to “Alphabet soup: A guide to special interests in Georgia”
Good work!
Here is another set of Letters
GEDA Georgia Economic Development association
Dear Mr. Walls:
Thank you for the work that you do – with the Alphabet Soup – I was wondering if you would be in a position to CONNECT THE DOTS with these agencies to show how they are all inter-related and how they support one another and how they are really all connected in one fashion or another.
There are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many of these agencies that JUST KEEP BEING CREATED to MASK what IS and ISN’T going on so that the cronies of this state continue to GET RICH and STAY CORRUPT because it is TRULY A BROTHERHOOD AND SISTERHOOD for those that have NO SOUL.
I would be very interested in knowing the who’s – how’s – and the $$$ – that is filtered into these “agencies” and the OVERSEERS of them all…
I contacted the ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES OF THE COURTS for the state of Georgia – AND THE “RECEPTIONIST” REFUSED TO GIVE VERY BASIC INFORMATION – and then VERBALLY ASSAULTED ME by calling me STUPID AND DUMB – and then HUNG UP THE PHONE when I wanted to speak with someone else and she refused to let me speak to another person and SAID THAT THERE WAS NO ONE OVER HER TO SPEAK WITH… YAY!!! TEAM GEORGIA – THIS IS A PITIFUL STATE – THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY – FOR ALL OF THE FRAUD – WILLFULL NEGLIGENCE – AND – CORRUPTION – TELL US WHAT TO DO OUT HERE MR. WALLS – THERE’S ALOT SINCE THE COLUMBUS GEORGIA INCIDENT – BUT GUESS WHAT – GOVERNOR DEAL – AND HIS MEMBERS – AND ALL OF THESE AGENCIES – JUDICIAL SYSTEMS – LAW ENFORCEMENT – COMMISSIONERS – STATE REPS – JQC – ALL OF THESE BOARDS – ARE COVERING UP EVERYTHING MR WALLS EVERYTHING!!!!