LegiStorm

The age-old decision at the grocery store checkout line has become much easier for Phillip W. Fordham, a former scheduler for Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.). He'll choose paper.

Fordham has taken a job as government relations specialist for the Memphis-based International Paper Co. The manufacturer, which employs 55,000 people in 24 countries, lobbies on a wide range of issues such as carbon neutrality, lumber tariffs and even postal rates.

The Georgia native graduated with a political science and pre-law degree from Georgia State University in 2013 and interned for the Georgia State Senate before joining Carter's campaign as field coordinator in 2013. He stayed on as transitional aide and then became scheduler and executive assistant for the congressman.

Days after the death of Muhammad Ali, a firm has filed to lobby on behalf of the Ultimate Fighting Championship against the proposed expansion of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.

The existing law is aimed at promoting integrity and the rights of boxers. The bill to expand the act was introduced to Congress last month but hasn't yet been voted on. Among other things, the expansion act would would regulate mixed martial arts. UFC has spoken out against aspects of the current and proposed expansion act.

The UFC lobbyist filing by Farragut Partners LLP, signed June 7, 2016 and effective May 1, 2016, is the first lobbying by UFC directly, though its parent company Luffa LLC has been lobbying for years.

Two of the lobbyists on the account have deep familiarity with commerce issues. Partner Jeffery Mortier is a former staffer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. His colleague Jeff MacKinnon was a long-time staffer for Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who chaired that committee.

Members of Congress are always looking for people who have proven that they can present themselves well to the public, so it's probably no surprise that they hire their fair share of beauty queens.

"My whole point in getting into pageants is to knock down those stereotypes and encourage girls," Hermosillo said in a 2013 interview with AZLatinos.com. "I try to take all the values that my parents instilled in me to really show that there are Latinas [who] are really successful and going for what they want."

She studied interdisciplinary arts and performance and Spanish at Arizona State University. She also attended the Walker Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication where she focused on broadcast journalism. Hermosillo is also pursuing her doctoral degree in organizational leadership at Grand Canyon University.

Ex-staffer Darrin Munoz is back in his old stomping ground working for Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) again after a two-year stint working for a firm that lobbied his old boss, then chair of the Senate Budget Committee.

In 2014 Munoz left his post as energy and environmental policy adviser to Enzi and moved to Denver to work for R&R Partners, a communication and government affairs firm. There he held the titles of deputy director of government affairs and later, of client services.

During the time of his employment, Munoz wrote on the firm's website articles about his involvement with various lobbying efforts to increase funding and gain congressional and public support for environmental issues and associations. He himself never filed as a federal lobbyist with the firm, although he did file as a foreign agent to help promote the interests of the Republic of Indonesia.

During the time of his employment at the Denver firm, the Western Governors' Association lobbied the Senate and House budget committees for wildfire funding. In a 2015 letter from the WGA to Enzi, the Senate Budget Committee chair, the group thanked the committee for efforts to end a practice used to fund wildfire suppression activities.

In May, Munoz returned to Enzi's office in May as deputy legislative director.