By Heather Kasten  |  Herald Tribune

The next legislative session for Florida is not until mid- January of 2020, but the Chamber’s Governmental Issues Council and CareerEdge staff have been working hard to meet with local legislators well in advance of the session starting. In early November members of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and staff went to Tallahassee to share the Chamber’s legislative agenda for 2020, which represents the topics and issues that are most important to our 1,200-plus member businesses.

Prior to the trip to Tallahassee, the Chamber convened with multiple regional organizations to work together on crafting a unified regional agenda. To accomplish this, local business organizations gave input, helped prioritize issues and created a united collective message for our local legislators. The outcome was a streamlined and strategic outline of priorities for the regional business community to focus on when meeting with our local and state legislators. This legislative agenda was first presented in September at the Sarasota delegation meeting, and then again in one-on-one appointments with legislators in Tallahassee in the first week of November. We also hosted delegates from Manatee and Sarasota Counties at a joint reception in partnership with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, which was a great event that showcased the way our community works together to think and act on a regional level.

This past week our Chamber went to meet with our federal legislators in Washington D.C. Mireya Eavey, executive VP for CareerEdge, and Jennifer Behrens, president of Atlantic Mold, a locally owned manufacturer, joined more than 75 business leaders from about 25 states in Washington D.C. to speak with members of Congress and their staff, urging them to invest in skills training to expand economic opportunities for working families, help meet the workforce needs of local business and industry, and make our country more competitive in a 21st century global economy.

Here are a few highlights of our 2020 legislative priorities that we will be advocating for:

Transportation

  • Support the planning and funding for I-75′s ultimate configuration in Sarasota county.
  • Support the expansion of road networks east of the interstate in order to relieve congestion on I-75.
  • Support accessible transit that creates mobility to major employment centers in a regionally efficient and collaborative effort.

Water Quality

  • Support a sound public policy and rational investment in infrastructure, both locally and regionally, that protects the Gulf of Mexico from harmful algal blooms.

Economic Development

  • Support the full utilization of the Sadowski Trust Fund revenue solely for housing. Solution: The Sadowski Trust Fund should be proportionally distributed among the 67 counties and used solely for affordable housing.
  • Support the Continuation Florida Job Growth Grant Fund. Solution: The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund funding level should be maintained or increased
  • Support affordable housing opportunities through the alignment of public-private partnerships in conjunction with a workforce transportation initiative. Solution: Provide incentives for urban infill projects with higher densities; encourage innovative building types. Reduction of government fees.
  • Support legislation to include career dual enrolled students in the acceleration calculation for state high school grades, which is currently provided for academic dual enrolled students. Solution: School Districts should be encouraged to provide career/technical education in middle schools; and increase dual enrollment for high school students in career/technical courses; and shouldn’t count against school districts.
  • Support funding all Florida’s Public Technical College/Centers Workforce Education Programs at a minimum funding level of 100% of the state model as developed and approved by the State FLDOE Workforce Education Funding Committee. Solution: The state funding formula should be updated to distribute funds closely following enrollment growth at technical schools.
  • Support funding for pre-apprenticeship programs with industry stakeholders. Solution: Workers compensation statutes amended so apprenticeship students can be covered.
  • Support fully funding appropriations to school district workforce education programs for performance-based industry certifications earned by post-secondary students. Solution: Fully fund post-secondary institutions for workforce education and careers in high demand as statutorily authorized.

Education

  • Support a needs-based School Readiness Funding Formula to provide a proportional allocation of funding across the state. Solution: The Legislature should create a new formula for the proportional reallocation of funding to the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Early Learning for VPK providers.
  • Fund affordable access to high quality Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK). Solution: Per-child funding for the state VPK program should be increased to the national average for per-student funding. Creation of statewide standards for VPK providers and institute minimum threshold for education/ certification.
  • Support mental health funding needed to address the mental health crisis occurring at the VPK through high school levels. Solution: Funding for mental health consultation services should be provided for schools (including early-learning providers) to address social, emotional, and mental health concerns of students.
  • Support increased access to childcare benefits for working families. Solution: Eligibility requirements for working families should be modified to increase access.

The Chamber would like to thank all of our legislators at the city, the county, the state and federal levels for their dedicated commitment and service to the Greater Sarasota community. We are also grateful for the thousands of business owners, leaders and Chamber members who are the engine of our economy. Your Chamber is focused on advancing priorities that strengthen our business climate and economy to in turn enhance the overall quality of life for our families and community.

Article last accessed here on December 2, 2019. A print ready version is available here.