FEDC Inside Track for Legislative Affairs: 2009 Session Summary
May 11, 2009
From left, Florida House Sergeant at Arms Earnest Sumner and Senate Sergeant at Arms Donald Severance drop their handkerchiefs during the traditional Sine Die closing ceremony on the fourth floor rotunda of the Capitol, Friday, May 8.
After extending the 2009 Regular Session by a week in order to complete negotiations on the $66.5 billion state budget, the Florida Legislature adjourned with its traditional Sine Die ceremony at 2:57 p.m. on Friday, May 8, 2009 after passing Senate Bill 2600, the budget bill, in the Senate by a vote of 32 to 8. The Florida House of Representatives followed suit on the budget, passing it by a vote of 75 to 43. The bill now goes to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who will have 15 days to sign or veto the bill.
House and Senate Conferees had met throughout the weekend of May 2-3 to negotiate differences in each of their budgets. After four days of working on line-item funding and finalizing the proviso, conforming and implementing bills, Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander and Vice Chairs Marcelo Llorente and David Rivera finalized their work on Monday, May 4.
The $66.5 billion budget, $6 million less than the previous fiscal year, was printed and laid on legislators desks on Tuesday, May 5, thus complying with the Florida Constitutional 72 hour “cooling off” requirement before a vote.
Governor Crist praised the Florida Legislature for investing in Florida’s future, including economic security and education, in spite of reduced state revenues.
“I applaud the Florida Legislature for putting together a budget that addresses the priorities of the people of Florida and sustains essential services, even during these challenging times,” Governor Crist said. “I look forward to carefully considering their proposals during the next several weeks.”
Governor Crist also praised the Florida Legislature for approving the use of $5.3 billion made available as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (federal stimulus funds).
To view the complete text of the Governor’s statement on the 2009 budget, click here. To view a video address from Governor Crist on the 2009 Session, go to http://www.clickcaster.com/charliecrist.
To view the 2009-2010 Budget, SB 2600, click here.
Budget Specifics
The entire transportation and economic development budget was $9.7 billion, which represents a 4.8 percent decrease from the previous year.
The total funding allocated to economic development programs and projects was $118,874,083.
Below is a list of specific items funded within the Florida Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development budget:
- Transportation Road Fund: $20,000,000
- Quick Action Closing Fund: $13,460,830
- Enterprise Florida operational funding: $11,400,000
- Film and entertainment incentives: $10,800,000
- Military base protection: $1,000,000
- Rural community development: $1,300,000
- Rural infrastructure: $1,150,000
- Defense infrastructure: $500,000
- Space Florida: $3,839,943
- Visit Florida: $25,000,000
- Economic development tools: $21,637,500
(Incentive programs: Qualified Targeted Industries, Qualified Defense Contractors, and High Impact Performance Incentives)
Economic Development Package
House Bill 7031, the legislative economic development package, passed both chambers unanimously. The bill and its companion, SB 2034, which were originally sponsored by State Representative Jennifer Carroll and Senator Rudy Garcia, respectively, addressed a number of regulatory issues aimed at helping Florida remain competitive in attracting, retaining and expanding business within the State.
After passing all three committees and councils of reference in the House and three committees of reference in the Senate (the latter was withdrawn from its remaining two references due to a lack of time) the bill did not receive a single no vote throughout the entire process. To view the final version of HB 7031, click here.
Workforce Legislative Update
Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Workforce Budget Update
Helping Florida businesses maintain a competitive workforce is the aim of Incumbent Worker Training (“IWT”) and Quick Response Training (“QRT”) grants, which are vital economic development tools.
- The IWT program, which awards grants to Florida businesses to reimburse expenses for skills upgrade training for their existing, full-time employees, will receive $4 million in the 2009-2010 state budget.
- The QRT program, which reimburses new or expanding businesses with grants for some of their expenses for customized skills training for newly created jobs will receive $3.3 million for FY 2009-2010.
The support of the Florida Economic Development Council, along with other statewide business associations whose legislative agendas include supporting initiatives that strengthen workforce talent and support state economic development priorities, was instrumental in ensuring these tools remain a key resource for Florida companies.
Workforce Florida Priority Legislation
Senate Bill 1062, which requires Professional Employer Organizations (“PEOs”) to report the same employment and wage data on their clients that is required of all other Florida employers to help improve labor market information, is on its way to the Governor’s desk for approval.
The information in this update was provided by Workforce Florida, Inc.
Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Tracy Mayernick at Colodny Fass.
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