2021 GOLDEN ROTUNDA AWARDS
Matt Bryan Runner-Up
LOBBYIST OF THE
YEAR
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INFLUENCE Fall 2021
ter often has a stake in the biggest issues of Session, year after year. In 2021, Bryan and the firm were thrust into the middle of the Gaming Compact conversation representing the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. When it came to the Special Session on gaming in May, Bryan helped guide thoroughbred horse breeders through the weeklong sprint, guaranteeing the industry’s survival by keeping racing tied to parimutuel wagering, which hoped to separate from live racing. “Live racing is important to us because, if there’s no live racing, there’s no reason to raise a horse,” Bryan said. Unlike most legislative lobbying, lawmakers had to work within the confines of an agreement signed ahead of time by the Governor. While legislative leaders were involved, negotiations at the top
level were between Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office and the Seminole Tribe. “You have to know when your time to go is, because if you start being a pain in the rear at the top of the negotiation where you’re not really involved, you can have yourself shown the exit door for later in the negotiations,” Bryan said. “You have to politely stay involved and monitored closely and understand the complexities of the bigger issues when it comes time to get your issues.” As for the future of lobbying, he expects younger lobbyists to embrace digital means of communicating with clients and lawmakers. As for himself, however — “I’m probably too old to change, so I’m going to go back to the way I know how to do it, which is face-to-face, hand-to-hand, hourto-hour, minute-by-minute,” Bryan said.
PHOTO: Mary Beth Tyson
U
ntil the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith, Bryan & Myers President Matt Bryan had a daily routine at the Capitol. Arrive at 7 a.m., follow a detailed plan, and leave around 7 p.m., 7:16 p.m. But Bryan, who started with SBM on the first day of the 1984 Legislative Session, proved an old dog can learn new tricks and a new routine. Like everyone else who was shut out of the Capitol for public safety reasons, he had to adapt to phone calls and Zoom calls. Bryan played a large role in handling the name, image and likeness legislation, which flared up in the final week of the Session. In last-minute matters like that, Bryan said the key is to know the quirks of the legislative rules or to know the right lawmakers who know the rules. “We had to jump into action to make sure we understood why the changes were being made and if they were able to be refined a little bit so everybody can be happy,” Bryan said. “Fortunately, at the end of the day, I think it worked out where everybody was happy. But we were still making some suggestions on the fly there for a while.” Another key is knowing the motivations of those driving the issue. “You can figure it out pretty quickly but that’s part of the fun of the job. It’s the puzzle, right?” Bryan said. “Something like this gets dropped in the last few days of Session, you’ve got to, ‘OK, why is it happening, who’s doing it, how do we make them happy?’ It happens every day in the Session in the end, and you just have to kind of work your way through it.” Smith Bryan & Myers is among the top lobbying firms in the state, with quarterly earnings routinely topping $1 million. The firm’s extensive client ros-