2021 GOLDEN ROTUNDA AWARDS
GrayRobinson
LEGAL
LOBBYING FIRM OF THE
YEAR the Budget Conference. Keeping the extra in reserve helped smooth disagreements between the House and the Senate, Cannon said. “Whether they can repeat that act, I doubt it,” he added. “I doubt they can do it again to the same extent, but I hope they do it again in concept.” This year was another successful one for GrayRobinson and its team of 24 lobbyists. The firm had a hand in
more than $1.7 billion in appropriations during the Session. Those funds included $72 million for the Canaveral Port Authority as part of $250 million from the American Rescue Plan state lawmakers set aside for deep-water seaports, which have been hit by the pandemic’s global economic slowdown. All of Florida’s 14 deep-water seaports received a slice of that quarter billion, but Canaveral received the largest share of the pot by a significant margin. Canaveral Port Authority’s Diane Luensmann called GrayRobinson’s role instrumental in helping the port, as it is year after year. The $72 million “is helping us stabilize our operating budget and recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic,” she said. In Hollywood, the firm scored a win on a multiyear effort to establish anchoring limitation areas prohibiting vessels from anchoring for an extended period
GrayRobinson President and CEO Dean Cannon and Tallahassee managing shareholder Jason Unger led a team that landed $1.7 billion in budget items for their clients.
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INFLUENCE Fall 2021
PHOTO: Mary Beth Tyson
W
hile the pandemic could lead to a permanent change in how much personal interaction remains in the business world, GrayRobinson President and CEO Dean Cannon says there’s no substitute for being face to face on important issues. However, there’s at least one pandemic-era change to the Legislative Process that Cannon, a former House Speaker, hopes remains in future years — that lawmakers play with their cards close to their chest while drafting the budget. By April 2021, the state’s finances were better off than many expected, but lawmakers were still cautious with the budget until they neared the end of