When Florida lawmakers began clearing a backlog of payments to victims and families harmed by government actions, their explanation for the dramatic shift was that it was their duty to abide by court rulings for the injured.

What wasn’t said was that, of the $37.5 million in claims bills approved over the past two years, $16.9 million — nearly half — was awarded to victims represented by a lobbyist who is the brother of Florida’s outgoing Republican House speaker, Richard Corcoran.