Having passed the first version of its budget last week, the Florida House met on Tuesday to tackle economic issues, including creating a sales tax holiday just in time for back-to-school shopping and forming an organization to invest in Floridas ports.
The House created a three-day sales tax holiday running from Aug. 13 until Aug. 15. During that period, books, clothes, shoes and book bags under $50 and school supplies under $10 would be exempt from sales tax.
We have record unemployment, record foreclosures, record drops in property prices and record deficits, said Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, who introduced the bill. The people of Florida need tax relief and they need it now.
We found these three days would benefit the state of Florida by $400 million -- both small and large retailers alike, said Rep. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.
Democrats backed the measure but attempted to extend the holiday.
It is revenue-positive; it generates more revenue than it loses, said incoming Minority Leader Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West.
Saunders offered an amendment to extend the holiday to 10 days, mirroring a proposal in the Senate, but he withdrew it. He then offered an amendment to make the sales tax holiday permanent. This is the number one priority of the Florida Retail Federation, Saunders said before withdrawing the amendment.
We would love to do 10 days, we would love to do 15 days, said Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Ft. Lauderdale. This is not realistic with our budget situation.
The House also passed the Florida Ports Investment Act without opposition.
Introduced by Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, it creates the Florida Ports Investment Corporation to administer projects at Floridas 14 ports. With the Panama Canal expanding in 2014, meaning larger vessels from Asia will be docking in Atlantic ports, Floridas 14 ports will need refurbishing to stay competitive. The corporation will coordinate investments and direct funds for port projects.
It will help meet the shipping changes to our state of Florida, said Ray.
Other measures also passed the House during Tuesdays session.
A measure sending $3.2 million to Space Florida to retrain workers after the termination of the space shuttle program passed 112 to 0. Tax credits for the Office of Film and Entertainment to lure the entertainment industry to shoot movies and televisions shows in Florida passed 117 to 0. The House also approved sending $4 million to the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research for the creation of a grant program for small businesses.
A measure limiting sales tax on boats sold in Florida to $18,000, sponsored by Rep. Tom Grady, R-Naples, passed in the face of fierce Democratic opposition by a vote of 79-36. Saunders, Rep. Adam Fetterman, D-Port St. Lucie, and Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, attacked the measure for not helping working Floridians. Grady insisted that the bill would help build jobs in Florida, noting that 220,000 Floridians work in the industry.
Other issues will emerge in the last weeks of the session. In an address to realtors earlier Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, said the House would focus on education, including the teacher performance incentive measure that passed the Senate last week, on Wednesday. He said that Medicaid reform will be on the schedule for next week.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
