Divided government has not been so kind to K Street as lobbying expenditures plunged in most sectors in the first quarter of this year.

Lobbying revenue for the first three months of the year was down by 12 percent compared to the same period in 2010, according to a CQ MoneyLine analysis of reports filed with Congress this month. It was also almost 5 percent less than the lobbying tab for the fourth quarter of last year.

A number of companies and other entities have yet to file their lobbying reports. However, submission of late filings are unlikely to alter the downward trend that began last year after Congress approved health care and financial reform measures that drew huge lobbying campaigns.

With Republicans controlling the House and a smaller Democratic majority in the Senate, the likelihood of major legislative accomplishments has diminished. Howard Marlowe, president of American League of Lobbyists, said many companies and groups are still trying to figure out what the new Congress aims to accomplish this session.

“There is a lot of uncertainty and not much happening,” said Marlowe, who is also president of the lobbying firm Marlowe & Company.

He also said that the current ban on earmarks has put a damper on lobbying on Capitol Hill.

“A lot of people have thrown up their hands and said ‘We can’t do anything. Why lobby it?’” Marlowe said.

Some lobbyists say they have shifted their focus to executive branch agencies, which are now implementing the legislation approved in the last two years. Not all agency lobbying is required to be reported in the congressional filings.