At a media event in Tallahassee on Tuesday, the Florida Chamber of Commerce brought out its legislative agenda, supporting Gov. Rick Scott’s call for $1 billion in tax cuts and his efforts to create a $250 million fund for Enterprise Florida to lure businesses to the Sunshine State.
With members of the business community and two Republicans in the state House--Rep. Kathleen Passidomo of Naples and Rep. Jimmie Smith of Inverness--at his side, Mark Wilson, the president and CEO of the Florida Chamber, urged the state government to embrace policies to make Florida more competitive.
“Our goal at the Florida Chamber is simple,” Wilson said. “It is to make Florida more competitive.”
Wilson praised Scott and the Legislature for passing more than 100 bills backed by the Florida Chamber, insisting the business climate has improved with $1.3 billion in tax cuts and creating almost 950,000 new jobs. But looking ahead, Wilson noted there would be 6 million new residents in Florida by 2030 and said more work needed to be done to ensure Florida would be able to offer an appealing economic climate, strong schools, good health-care and a preserved environment.
“While Florida is moving in the right direction, now is not the time to be complacent,” Wilson said. “Florida is in competition for private-sector jobs with other states, and therefore we must ensure a tax and business climate that is welcoming to job growth, ensure that we have a talented workforce to fill those jobs, ensure that Florida’s quality of life provides sustainable water resource solutions and that we lower the cost of healthcare through better outcomes. Now is the time to put Florida’s long-term economic security ahead of short-term political fixes.”
Drawing from data from the Florida Chamber Foundation, Wilson said he expected 220,000 new jobs in 2016, adding to the 941,000 new jobs created since Scott took over as governor.
Insisting Florida’s economy needed to be diversified, Wilson called on the Legislature to back Scott’s $1 billion tax cut proposal, most of which target manufacturing including ending the manufacturing sales tax. Wilson also supported Scott’s calls to phase out the corporate income tax and commercial lease taxes while keeping sales tax holidays for back-to-school shopping and hurricane readiness.
Turning to education, Wilson said skilled workforces would trump incentives and tax breaks over the next decade as the biggest factor to lure businesses to relocate. The Florida Chamber backed more accountability for schools including grading schools.
Sydney Kitson, the chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners in Palm Beach Gardens and the incoming chairman of the board of the Florida Chamber, tackled legal reform. Ripping into “billboard trial lawyers” and Florida’s “dismal” legal climate, Kitson called for “common sense” legal reform. Wilson offered a tip of the cap to Passidomo as a “true champion for legal reform.”
Noting Florida’s expected growth required the use of 28 percent more water by 2030, Wilson called for a “science-based water policy” and said other states were shooting themselves in the foot on the issue. “We can not afford to go the way of California,” Wilson said.
The Florida Chamber backed more public-private partnerships on water issues and endorsed a bill from state Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, and state Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-Lehigh Acres, having the state develop a comprehensive water policy.
On health-care, the Florida Chamber backed more transparency and competition, more telemedicine options and giving nurse practitioners and physician assistants more authority. Asked by Sunshine State News if the Florida Chamber backed allowing nurse practitioners to write prescriptions, Wilson said it did, calling it a common sense reform.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
