The Florida Chamber of Commerce already has a deep roster of lobbyists; some may even say it’s too big.

But Chamber President Mark Wilson says there's about a 50 percent chance that they could find a place for a new all-star firm in Tallahassee -- Capitol Insight -- launched by two former House speakers, Larry Cretul and Dean Cannon.

Both have long ties with the chamber and Wilson said the odds are slightly better that a place could be found for Cretul, who until a couple of weeks ago was the chamber’s political director, overseeing the chamber's candidate interviews and selection process.

“We have a full-time elections department, we’re already working on ’14, ’16 and ’18,” Wilson said. “If it’s not Larry, we’ll bring somebody in.”

Otherwise, while the longtime acquaintances continue to have “serious conversations,” nothing has been agreed upon, Wilson said.

At Capitol Insight, Cretul and Cynthia Lorenzo are to run the firm’s legislative affairs practice, while Cannon will work with the executive branch and on business development.

State law bars legislators for two years, from the time they leave off, from lobbying their former colleagues in the Capitol. But the state has no rules on former legislators lobbying the executive branch agencies.

Cretul served as speaker in the 2009 and 2010 sessions. Cannon followed, running the 2011 and 2012 sessions.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.