The House Finance and Tax Committee forwarded a bill on unemployment compensation Thursday, sending it to the Economic Affairs Committee despite Democratic opposition. The measure was forwarded on a 16-8 party-lines vote.
The proposed legislation would set initial eligibility for unemployment benefits at 20 weeks as opposed to the current rate of 26 weeks. The measure would also ensure that Floridians accepting unemployment would take job offers after being out of work for 12 weeks.
Floridas current unemployment compensation system is broken, insisted Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, chairman of the Finance and Tax Committee.
The system was never designed for the severity of the current economic downturn and this has caused an unsustainable rise in payments to unemployed workers through large, automatic increases in the employer-paid taxes that fund the benefits.
Floridas economy simply cannot afford the taxes that fund the current unemployment compensation system, added Precourt. And during these uncertain economic times, Florida cannot afford to allow the unemployment compensation system to completely fail, and thus hinder economic growth and job creation. House Bill 7005 is an equitable solution to this critical challenge our state is facing; ensures that employers and unemployed workers are both treated fairly, and basic needed benefits are maintained."
This bill provides needed tax relief to most Florida businesses by adjusting the benefit ratio calculation downward by 10 percent, chimed in Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota. This tax adjustment will ensure that we continue to foster a healthy economic environment for Florida businesses and continue to compensate unemployed workers by maintaining the same maximum weekly benefit amount that is currently available.
Democrats, led by ranking member Rep. Scott Randolph of Orlando, opposed the bill.
It is clear to me that the goal of the unemployment compensation bill is to punish unemployed Floridians during a period of considerable economic turmoil and low job opportunity, said Randolph. I cannot understand why this Legislature is so intent on making it increasingly difficult for these same Floridians to find jobs. Just yesterday, the governor rejected funding for the high-speed rail project, which would have created thousands of jobs in our state. Instead of focusing on job creation, the governor and the Republican-led Legislature appear more interested in punishing out-of-work Floridians for their own failure to stimulate job growth.
Apparently this Legislature wont be satisfied until it has forced unemployed Floridians out of their homes, onto Food Stamps and into Medicaid, with no job prospects in the near future, added Randolph. For the good of our state, we should not allow this bill to become law.
Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, who chairs the Economic Affairs Committee which will see the bill next, praised the measure.
"House Bill 7005 serves to update Floridas unemployment compensation system so it can handle the realities of our current economic situation and adjust accordingly in the future, said Hukill. It also alters the system to aid with work force development and placement for unemployed workers in an effort to get Floridians back to work faster -- a component that our current system lacks.
I applaud the members of the House Finance and Tax Committee for passing this bill out of committee today, and I look forward to hearing it in the Economic Affairs Committee soon, added Hukill, who plans to run for the state Senate in 2012.
The bill also won the backing of House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami.
Today the Finance and Tax Committee took the next step to provide needed relief to Floridas business community, said Lopez-Cantera. By providing critical tax relief to businesses and adjusting unemployment compensation benefits to reality, this bill directly assists overburdened business owners who are responsible for the growth of our states economy and getting Floridians back to work. We look forward to seeing this pro-jobs bill continue its way through the legislative process.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
