Lt. Gov. Kottkamp visits Marco with message: It’s not all bad news
Jun 6, 2008
Kottkamp gives Public Risk Management Conference attendees an update from Tallahassee
By KELLY FARRELL
Marco Eagle–June 5, 2008
The economy is changing in the state of Florida, and according to Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp it’s not all bad news.
“It’s the first time in modern history that state revenue is down for the second year in a row,” he said adding that there were also some “real victories” in Tallahassee.
Kottkamp visited the Hilton Island Beach Resort on Marco Thursday afternoon. He addressed about 100 leaders from cities, counties and special taxing districts throughout the state of Florida attending the Public Risk Management 16th Annual Educational Conference.
Public Risk Management (PRM) of Florida is a pool of local municipalities who come together to form a risk management insurance group in order to pool rates on property and casualty insurance as well as employee health and benefit packages, according to PRM’s Executive Director Ross Furry.
Kottkamp, elected in Nov. 2006, shared some of the accomplishments of the recently finished legislative session.
Kottkamp said Florida, which once relied on agriculture and tourism for the economic stability, will be transforming.
He said leaders are seeing the “gold and green” of environmentalism.
“There is a lot of money to be made in it,” Kottkamp said, adding that “if we don’t take care of our environment the 84 million people (who travel to Florida) won’t visit here anymore.”
The Sunshine State will be used for a primary resource, the sun, according to Kottkamp.
Governor Charlie Crist’s energy plan includes ethanol produced from citrus and sugar waste, wind power and solar power.
“FPL will be building the first solar power plant in the country, where else but in the Sunshine State,” he said.
Other transformations in the economy will include biotechnology such as stem cell research and aerospace.
Similar successes from the governor’s office, according to Kottkamp, include a health insurance plan that will provide insurance to “all Florida children” and will offer insurance for $150 per month to families.
Another victory he said is the Autism Bill which mandates insurance coverage for children with Autism. Autism is found in one out of 94 boys and one out of 150 children, costing family about $45,000 per year in treatment he said, adding that the insurance improvements will “take a huge burden” off families and emergency rooms.
“We had a lot of successes in Tallahassee,” he said.