Led by health insurers and power companies, special interest organizations spent more than $90 million on lobbying efforts in 2017, a year marked by a government shutdown over the governor's demands of a leading insurance company and a clash over a $300 million nuclear energy subsidy.

The latest lobbying totals come from an Election Law Enforcement Commission analysis of company and industry group's spending on in-house lobbyists and outside agents, advertising and other costs of doing business.

"In a democratic society, policy-making often doesn't come easy or quietly. And the most intense debates often lead to heavy lobbying activity," said Jeff Brindle, ELEC's executive rirector.

"In 2017, several issues that are still on the hot burner in 2018 led to record spending by some of the parties with the biggest stakes."

It comes as no surprise that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, targeted by former Gov. Chris Christie last year as he searched for money to fund his fight against the state's opioid epidemic, was 2017's biggest spender.

Horizon insures 3.8 million people in New Jersey, including roughly 400,000 who obtained coverage after Christie agreed to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Christie spent the first half of 2017 attacking the nonprofit for not parting with $300 million from its reserves to help fund addiction treatment. The company argued its reserves were not a surplus and would only be sufficient to cover total claims of its some 3.8 million members for 75 days in the event of a calamity like a hurricane or flu epidemic.

Christie accused Horizon's executives of taking advantage of the needy to line their pockets. The money grab led to a shutdown of state government over Fourth of July weekend.

And Horizon didn't stay silent. The Latino Consumer Alliance launched a campaign called Hands Off Healthcare, funded by the insurer, that held rallies and parked a truck airing videos opposing the money grab outside the Statehouse in Trenton.

The Latino Consumer Alliance received $1.4 million from Horizon, according to the ELEC report.

Horizon spent $2.5 million in 2017, compared with $778,000 in 2016, ELEC said.

Horizon was followed closely by the Public Service Enterprise Group, of which PSE&G is a subsidiary. The utility company spent $2.35 million last year, as lawmakers considered a $300 million annual subsidy for its nuclear plants.

PSEG claims its plants are going to start losing money and without help it will have to take them off line, costing south Jersey thousands of jobs.

The bill under consideration at the end of last year included a $0.004 per kilowatt hour surcharge that would cost the typical New Jersey household about $3.40 a month, or $40.80 a year, according to the state Division of Rate Counsel. PSEG said it would be closer to $31.

With a new governor, 2018 saw a new version of that subsidy, rewritten to include clean-energy programs.

According to ELEC, a co-owner of two of the three Salem County plants, Exelon Generation Company LLC, spent another $194,000 to boost the proposed subsidy.

An opponent, New Jersey Coalition for Fair Energy, reported to ELEC that it spent $939,000 on its efforts. The recently formed group includes Texas-based Calpine Corp. and Dynegy Inc., Washington, D.C.-based Electric Power Supply Association, and Princeton's NRG Energy Inc., ELEC said.

At $1.2 million, the fourth-biggest spender was the Occidental Patroleum Corporation, which, ELEC said reported meeting "with several administration and legislative officials over a hearing on superfund legislation."

Under a settlement with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Occidental is paying $190 million stemming from its contamination of the Passaic River.

The NJ Food Council also dramatically kicked up its spending last year to $1.15 million in its campaign against a $15 million wage. It directed $920,000 to Protect New Jersey Jobs, which opposes the minimum wage hike.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.