By: Samantha J. Gross  |  Miami Herald

In order to solve Florida’s wide-ranging and intricate problems, state leaders will need to focus on both creating new policies and better enforcing existing ones.

Over the course of the last seven months, the Florida Influencers — 50 leaders in business, education, healthcare, law and nonprofits — have offered their views on the issues that matter most to people who live in the Sunshine State. On Monday, the Influencers gathered for an in-person summit at the University of Miami to discuss, debate and produce concrete recommendations for Florida’s leaders.

The Florida Priorities Summit is a project by the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and Bradenton Herald to bring experts together in lively debate over the subjects that matter in the state.

Aminda Marqués González, editor and publisher of the Miami Herald, told the room that the point of the project — now in its second year — is to “help Floridians find solutions to the vexing problems that they face.”

“It’s more than just identifying problems, we wanted you to come up with solutions to help address these critical issues,” she said.

Kristin Roberts, McClatchy’s vice president of news, told the room that the purpose of their recommendations is to “break the cycle of triage” in today’s political discourse.

“We are finally getting to a place where we can disagree with one another in a civil way,” she said.

The Influencers were sectioned off into teams tackling the economy, education, environment, healthcare, housing and transportation.

ECONOMY

The economy team, led by Venture Café executive director Leigh-Ann Buchanan, came to an agreement that the economy “does not thrive in silos.”

“Instead, it requires the acknowledgment that equitable educational opportunities, lack of integrated transportation infrastructure, affordable housing and environmental threats impact the economic viability of our state,” they wrote.

In order to achieve economic viability for years to come, lawmakers need to articulate by the end of the legislative session a measurable, transparent, achievable and inspiring plan of action.

“There’s a lack of a long-term strategy or vision or a sustainable economy that outdates term limits and lives on for future generations,” Buchanan said.

Influencers recommended that the state prioritize the recruitment startups or mid-sized companies by adapting best practices for incentive packages from other jurisdictions, involving more stakeholders and redesigning workforce initiatives that respond to the needs of smaller businesses.

They also recommended that the state adopt an annual, mandatory audit of all governments to publicly measure inclusivity. The Legislature should leverage the current economic strength to prioritize investment in the newer economic drivers that center on affordability, sustainability, environmental health and innovation, they wrote.

Lastly, they recommend the governor create an Office of Entrepreneurship, Access and Equity that would be tasked with allocating resources toward education for entrepreneurship as both a driver of economic development in the state and individual economic mobility for all.

EDUCATION

Leaders from higher education and beyond came to an agreement that Florida is approaching an inflection point as it pertains to creating access to quality education for children and ensuring that they are ready for the workforce of the future.

Led by Florida International University Vice President of Engagement Saif Ishoof, the Influencers recommended that Floridians embrace technology and equip learners with the skills to lead the state for years to come.

Their suggestions include more investment in classroom technologies, better partnerships between businesses and educators, more funding for teacher professional development and support for college-ready children in historically disenfranchised communities.

Ishoof said a lot of the recommendations “spoke to the spirit of what’s already happening in our state.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed to supporting increases in teacher wages, and the Legislature last year passed a wide-ranging education bill including an expansion of workforce training and apprenticeships.

“There’s lots of positive momentum underway,” Ishoof said. “Now it’s about implementation and ensuring there is a deepening of those investments that are taking place.”

ENVIRONMENT

Florida is the third most populous state and growing exponentially, and it is currently in a state of environmental crisis, the Influencers concluded. Environmental issues are top of mind, per the last Influencers poll, which concluded that lawmakers must prioritize finding ways to handle water quality on the coasts, rising seas and extreme weather, among other environmental issues.

Led by Audubon Executive Director Julie Wraithmell, the Influencers came up with three potential solutions that would address climate, water and land use.

On climate, they suggested state officers conduct an annual state climate assessment to look at resilience baselines and benchmarks so as to track progress on implementation.

“With visionary leadership and some shared adversity, we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change and ensure Florida’s future prosperity,” they wrote in their recommendation.

On water, the Influencers said regulation and restoration expenses should be distributed equitably, so that those who live, work and visit here can continue to enjoy Florida and continue contributing to the economy. Decision-makers must carefully consider not only the cost of regulations but also the costs of inaction, they wrote.

Lastly, on land use, Influencers said lawmakers must consider population growth, immigration and climate-driven migration while prioritizing resilient locations, population density and mass transit.

“Our environment is everything to us in Florida,” Wraithmell said. “We need to take care to safeguard that. In the face of dramatic challenges, we need to think carefully about how do we want to grow sustainably in the coming century.”

HEALTHCARE

The healthcare team, led by Florida AARP Director Jeff Johnson, suggested that the state first address health costs and access as they consider how to best deliver healthcare to Floridians.

They concluded that while healthcare is a complicated issue, the Legislature can make progress on using technology to create a better culture of informed health. They also suggested that the state increase transparency in the healthcare system so that patients can make more informed choices on coverage and payment options, potential surprise billing and comparative costs for standard tests and services.

The Influencers’ main suggestion was around telehealth, and reimbursing doctors who see patients via telehealth the same way other doctors are reimbursed would help expand patient access and reduce cost. The Legislature passed a law during the 2019 legislative session providing additional guidelines on the use of telehealth in the state.

“There needs to be parity, so there isn’t any incentive to lean one way or another,” Johnson said. “This is a legislative and gubernatorial challenge. We’re going to need action on this.”

Ana Lopez-Blazquez, executive vice president of Baptist Health South Florida, added that telehealth will not only help bring down prices for patients but also help out hospitals with patient load.

“Avoidable admission is the way to go,” she said. “What we don’t want is a hospital full of people who don’t need to be there.”

HOUSING

Florida is in the midst of a serious housing shortage, Influencers concluded Monday.

Current market conditions discourage building or preserving the affordable housing that residents and our economy need to grow, they said, and currently, the state needs over 790,000 additional homes that are affordable to low-income renters.

To address this housing crisis, Influencers recommend that the Legislature and the governor take action using affordable housing trust funds only for affordable housing. In order to support local and state affordable housing programs through a fee on real estate transactions, the William F. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act was adopted in 1992, creating two trust funds for housing. But since the Great Recession, the funds have been routinely raided by Tallahassee lawmakers for other uses like hurricane recovery and general funding.

Influencers, led by Annie Lord of Miami Homes for All, suggested the state address affordable housing by passing legislation that requires all Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Funds be used only for affordable housing, create incentives to encourage new construction and preservation of affordable homes and create property tax abatements in exchange for lower rents for longer periods.

Lord said the basis of their recommendations is helping address the lack of affordable housing for those earning lower incomes in Florida.

“It’s terribly important we have affordable housing to prepare and educate the next generation of workers in this state,” she said. “Right now, the market is not creating the housing stock that our residents and our economy need. We have to do something about that activity for the future viability of our economy.”

TRANSPORTATION

The transportation working group concluded that Florida needs to prioritize efficiency and accessibility when it comes to making transportation systems more efficient.

That efficiency will come in the form of technology like autonomous vehicles, electric systems and roadway sensors.

Group leader Marie Woodson, a former Miami-Dade County administrator, said the group must look at broadening regional transportation through state funding and a network that includes city, county and state roadways.

“Sometimes we think just for our county or our city, but it’s not just about that,” Woodson said. “When you have to move people, it’s better to come up with a statewide strategy.”

Article last accessed hereon November 20, 2019. A print-ready version is available here.