Legislative Status Report February 7, 2020

The Daytona Regional Chamber works closely with our Volusia delegation and others to relay the local business viewpoint on matters that come before State government. In an effort to keep you, our members, informed of the Session in Tallahassee, we present our Legislative Status Report. If you have any questions regarding its content, please contact  Jim Cameron  at 386.566.2140.

FY 2020-21 Budget Details

In his State of the State address, Governor DeSantis outlined his FY 2020-21 budget priorities .

House Appropriations Committee is proposing a $91.3 billion budget while Senate Appropriations Committee is recommending a $92.8 billion budget. Click here for more information. Click S 2500 for Senate version Click H 5003 for House version

Workforce Housing

While Senate budget leaders (along with the Governor) want to use all $385 million of Sadowski Housing Trust Funds for affordable housing, House budget leaders want to divert $240 million for other purposes leaving only $147 million for affordable housing programs. Once these budgets are approved by the House and Senate, Conference Committees begin negotiations to find a suitable amount.

Education

When the House Appropriations Committee approved H 5003 ( PCB APC 20-05 ), it included an overhaul to the District Cost Differential formula which determines how funds are distributed among 67 school districts. The big question remains which districts get more money – and which get less. The District Cost Differential is supposed to help measure how much it costs to hire teachers and other school employees in different parts of the state. The approve measure would implement a “comparable wage index,” which would look at the wages of similarly educated workers to employees of public schools. While the initial plan was for the Office of Economic & Demographic Research to perform the study (which will be complete in April), the House hired the Balmoral Group to perform a Wage-Base study (see Legislative Status Report – January 24). For now, the Chamber is monitoring how the new study could impact the Volusia District and we appreciate members of our delegation for keeping us informed of the issue.

Tourism

S 362 Florida Tourism Marketing by Sen  Hooper  - e xtends the scheduled Visit Florida repeal date to October 1, 2028 (vs July 1, 2020). The five-year appropriations average to VISIT FLORIDA is $70.8 million.

The Senate has allotted $52.2 million in their budget while the has NO funds and wants the agency to sunset July 1. Gov DeSantis recommended $50 million as a starting point for VISIT FLORIDA for next year. Approved by Appropriations ( Sens Travis Hutson , David Simmons voted YES ) .Next stop - Senate floor. The Chamber supports the continuation of VISIT FLORIDA with a sufficient budget for tourism marketing. It's a good return on investment!

Vacation Rental Units S 1128 by Sen Diaz preempts regulation of vacation rental units to state Dept of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) and prohibits cities/counties from regulating or requiring inspections/licensing of vacation rentals. It is on the Commerce and Tourism  Commite e agenda on 2/11 ( Sens Travis Hutson , Tom Wright, members).

Identical House version H 1011 by Rep Fisher was approved this week by the Government Operations & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee . It now goes to the Commerce Committee (Rep David Santiago – member). The Chamber opposes S 1128 and H 1011. Cities and Counties should regulate Vacation Rental Units for fire, noise and make sure proper sales and bed taxes are collected. Most important, they should be properly zoned.

Florida Constitution

Constitutional Amendments Citizen Initiatives - S 1794 by Sen Travis Hutson – makes changes the means by which Florida’s Constitution may be amended by citizen initiative. The bill would - ·         Revise a proposal's financial impact on state and local governments and the state budget. ·         Increases from 10% (76,000 signatures) of the number petitions to 50% (383,000 valid petition signatures) in hand before the proposal referred to the Attorney General;     Click here for more information.

Senator Travis Hutson

Economic Development/Brownfields

H 1001 Brownfields by Rep Stone specifies how a developer may claim the sales tax exemption for building materials used to construct affordable housing in a designated brownfield area. It specifies that mixed-use projects and projects with market-rate housing can take a tax credit if that developer sets aside 20% for low-income households. It requires DEP to inform tax credit applicants of their eligibility status and the amount of the tax credit due by June 1 of each year. It revises conditions for requiring local governments to designate a site as a brownfield area.

H 1001 was approved by Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee (Rep Elizabeth Fetterhoff voted YES ). Next stop – Ways & Means Committee (Rep David Santiago – member). The Chamber supports H 1001 as a means to construct affordable housing.

Employment Eligibility

Verification of Employment Eligibility   S 664  by  Sens Lee, Gruters would require E-Verify be used for governmental employees and employees of contractors. It   is on the  Judiciary Committee agenda 2/11. House version H 1265 Rep Byrd  . It is now before the  Commerce Committee   ( Rep David Santiago  – member). Not moving….

Gov DeSantis  wants to make E-Verify a mandate for all workers in the state.

On the Chamber's Radar Screen......

Key House/Senate bills moving towards passage Contingency Risk Multipliers - S 914  by  Sen Brandes  would limit the amount of attorneys’ fees awarded in cases involving property insurance policies. It would involve situations where insurance companies are seeking to deny a claim by an insured individual. Click here for more information. Space Florida H 717 by Rep Sirois  removes the requirement that the Governor and Cabinet must approve Space Florida’s bond proposals, specifies that revenue bonds issued by Space Florida may not constitute an indebtedness of Space Florida and may not be secured by state appropriations. Click here for more information.

Environmental Regulation   CS/H 73  by Rep Overdorf - for contracts executed/renewed after October 1, local entities must address nonhazardous contamination of recyclable materials in contracts with residential recycling collectors and recovered materials processing facilities. Click here for more information. Constitutional Amendments Proposed by Initiative    CS/SB 1794 by Sen Travis Hutson modifies the citizen initiative process for amending the State Constitution by: Narrowing the role of the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC) to estimating the proposal's financial impact on state and local governments and the state budget (removing impacts to the local governments and economies). Click here for more information. Housing Trust Fund   S 306  by  Sen Mayfield  would exempt the State Housing Trust Fund and Local Government Housing Trust Fund from a provision authorizing the Legislature to transfer (or “sweep”) unappropriated cash balances from specified trust funds to the Budget Stabilization Fund and the General Revenue Fund.   Click here for more information.

Chamber's 2020 Legislative Priorities

Click  2020 Legislative Priorities  to see the Chamber's recommendations for the Session. Compiled by our Legislative Action Committee - Phil Maroney, Chair (Root Company), this list was presented to the Volusia delegation at their November 20 meeting.   Click here to see Chamber 2020 Legislative Priorities Bill Tracker These recommendations will be tracked throughout the session and reported each week in the Chamber's Legislative Status Report.

Click here to see subject index for legislation .

Tallahassee Speaker Series

Florida 2030 Blueprint to Secure Florida's Future With Florida being the third most populous state…by 2030, our population will total 26 million and 1.5 million more jobs will be needed. To help ensure that Florida and Volusia remain prosperous, the Daytona Regional Chamber is hosting Florida 2030 – presented by the Florida Chamber Foundation. This program will identify key trends and factors that will drive our local economy. Florida 2030 is an opportunity to help Volusia County prepare for its future

Donna Wright , of the Florida Chamber Foundation , will discuss the six pillars supporting Florida's future success, including job creation, infrastructure, business climate and quality of life.  Admission is $25 with advanced registration, $35 on the day of the event. Click here to RSVP online.

Contact Your House and Senate Members

Click here   to see Volusia's House/Senate contact information as well as new committee assignment. Click here to see  Florida House members   and  Florida Senate members

Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce 126 E. Orange Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 386.255.0981 | info@daytonachamber.com DaytonaChamber.com Your Chamber of Influence

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