You might not be used to paying attention to the Florida Legislature so early in the year, but with the start of the session in even-numbered years pushed to January, you’d better start.
A number of issues relevant to business interests will be at the fore of the session, with efforts to get rid of the state’s tourism marketing agency, a range of environmental issues and a brewing fight over E-Verify all being hashed out over the next 60 days.
Here’s the path we hope our leaders take on some key issues:
Visit Florida:
The state’s tourism marketing agency has been in the crosshairs of influential Republican lawmakers for years, with the legislators arguing that the state doesn’t have to market itself; local areas can do so on their own.
We feel that approach is misguided and ends up hurting an area like the First Coast. Particularly because we are not as tourism dependent as the rest of the state, it is important that Florida as a whole work to attract visitors here; we can’t do so on our own. After surviving last year’s fight (which saw its budget cut from $76 million to $50 million), the agency has taken pains to show why it should continue to exist. The legislature should listen to those arguments.
E-Verify:
Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly called for the state to adopt the contentious — and serially failed — law that would force all employers to run new hires through the federal government database to make sure they are legal workers.
While we understand the desire to stop undocumented workers from participating in the economy, this is the federal government’s job, not the states or individual municipalities. More to the point, it will subject our business community to undue financial burdens due to enforcement costs, and subject workers to undue federal scrutiny.
Environment:
Despite his party’s historical aversion to addressing wide-ranging environmental issues, DeSantis appears ready to buck the trend. He has made environmental issues from beach resiliency to waterway pollution to electric vehicle charging stations a priority.
While some of his plans arguably do not go far enough, the bipartisan support is encouraging. As the nation stands in gridlock on many environmental issues, it is heartening to see the state move forward, if for no other reason than self-interest: Florida will be ground zero for the impending rise in sea level.
Affordable housing:
The legislature created the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund almost three decades ago, but for the past 12 years, the state has been raiding it for other purposes. As the state’s population continues to grow while its housing stock becomes ever more expensive, it is vital that money be used for its intended purpose. We can’t grow as a state if our working class is housing insecure.
A print-ready PDF is available here.