CONTACT: Edie Ousley

850-521-1231 or 850-251-6261

[email protected] 

Florida Chamber Honors Representative Ed Narain With

Distinguished Advocate Award

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (July 2015) - Today, the Florida Chamber of Commerce announced Representative Ed Narain (D-Tampa) is one of 23 legislators honored with a 2015 Florida Chamber Distinguished Advocate award.

"As a freshman legislator, Representative Ed Narain has shown that his priority is Florida's economy. By advocating for the extension of R&D tax credits, he is positioning Florida for greater success," said David Hart, Executive Vice President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. "We are proud to honor Representative Narain with a 2015 Distinguished Advocate Award."

The Florida Chamber's Distinguished Advocate award recognizes lawmakers who championed key Florida Business Agenda legislation. This award goes to legislators who fought tirelessly for the passage of pro-jobs legislation - no matter how difficult - and furthered the Florida Chamber's goals of securing Florida's future through job creation and economic development.

Representative Narain has helped support the growth of high skill, high wage jobs by filing legislation related to the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit, which would increase the current cap of $9 million and allow more companies to receive a portion of the credit by prorating the amount received if the cap was exceeded. The R&D Tax Credit program has been so successful since its inception in 2011, the $9 million cap had been met in 9 minutes and 2 minutes in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Once the House Finance and Tax Committee announced they would be creating a package of tax cuts, Representative Narain worked with the committee to successfully include his legislation in the final tax package. The cap was increased to $23 million for 2016, a tough feat given competing tax cuts. We commend Representative Narain for his commitment and leadership on this important issue and we look forward to continuing to work with him.

"R&D tax credits help support a growing industry in our state which brings high-skill, high-wage jobs. The Florida Chamber's support has been key in advocating for this important issue. No one did so more than the Florida Chamber of Commerce," said Representative Narain.

The Florida Chamber also released its annual publication How They Voted - which provides the grades for all 160 legislators so business leaders can see who voted for or against a competitive Florida, as well as what Florida Business Agenda issues did or didn't pass this year. The full list of the Florida Chamber's 2015 Distinguished Advocates can be found here.

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Established in 1916 as Florida's first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business and the state's largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations aggressively representing small and large businesses from every industry and every region. The Florida Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as crucial to secure Florida's future. The Florida Chamber works closely with its Florida Political Operations and the Florida Chamber Foundation. Visit www.FLChamber.com for more information.

136 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301

I am honored to have been selected to receive the 2015 County Champion Award by the Florida Association of Counties (FAC). This award is presented to legislators who have demonstrated support and understanding of county issues during the past legislative session. The award will be presented during the FAC's Policy Conference on August 26-27, 2015. The conference brings together elected officials and administrators from across the state to develop policies that will guide our legislative advocacy for the coming year.