The Chamber’s Business Leaders United Political Action Committee’s (BLU-PAC) priority is to elect pro-business candidates who understand what it takes to operate a business and support policy that allows businesses to be successful. After in-person interviews and additional screening, BLU-PAC has endorsed the following candidates running in Boynton Beach’s Municipal Election:

·        Ty Penserga - Mayor

·        Angela Cruz - Commissioner, District I

·        Marit Hedeen - Commissioner, District III

These endorsed candidates are the RIGHT LEADERS for Boynton Beach. They are prepared to work hard to ensure that the City of Boynton Beach continues to move forward for significant job growth and economic prosperity. To find your polling location, click here.

This week marks the end of Florida's Legislative Session. Since the start nine weeks ago, 1954 bills have been filed - 990 in the Senate and 964 in the House of Representatives. Of the bills filed, 213 have passed in the House, 191 in the Senate and 112 in both Chambers. Today, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 434, reauthorizing VISIT FLORIDA and extending the sunset date out five years, to October 1, 2028. This is a great victory for Florida's tourism industry as it continues to surpass pre-pandemic levels and set new visitation records as a result of VISIT FLORIDA’s marketing efforts.

Supported by Florida’s business community, Governor DeSantis signed Florida Senate Bill 7014. This bill extends the COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers until June 2023. The health care community includes hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, and nurses. Last year, the Florida Legislature passed Chamber-backed legislation providing necessary COVID-19 liability protections for businesses and health care providers with overwhelming support. The protections afforded to health care facilities and providers were scheduled to sunset at the end of March 2022 without further action. We applaud the Governor’s leadership in protecting and extending relief against frivolous lawsuits to our healthcare heroes as they continue working to keep Floridians safe.

Additional legislation we are watching pertains to potential costs on businesses in Florida Senate Bill 620 and Senate Bill 280. Bill 620 would allow a business operating for at least three years to sue for damages if a city or county adopted a regulation that damaged the profits of that business by 15%. Bill 280 would require local governments to assess the financial impact of new ordinances and regulations and require they be published on their websites with the estimated economic impact on businesses and compliance cost of new rules.

With the deadline for corporate tax returns approaching on Tuesday, March 15^th, the rules around small business taxes have changed this year as many pandemic-era deductions and deferrals come to an end. This year, additional tax implications will also be seen because of the Build Back Better infrastructure bill, which includes proposals to increase capital gains tax and limits the 20% deduction for qualified business income. We are continuing to monitor the progress of the legislation and report on its future impacts.

Business owners can still apply retroactively for certain pandemic-related benefits, including the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). The ERC is a fully refundable payroll tax credit for employers that can add up to $70,000 per quarter and was created to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The program has undergone three major changes in the last two years, including loosening up the rules on limiting how much a business could receive depending on how the pandemic has impacted it, and being opened to businesses that took out a PPP loan. Additionally, the cap for business interest expenses was raised to 50% of business income, up from 30%. Net operating losses were prominent in 2020 taxes and business owners also amended previous tax returns with net operating losses that they carried back. 

Under the CARES Act, employers could defer deposits of the employer portion of Social Security. Now, those payments are due. The first half was due at the end of 2021, and the other half is due at the end of this year. Since the payments have already been deferred, the IRS has warned that there will be penalties to any taxpayers who missed the recent December 31st deadline. For additional information, click here or contact your local Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Click here for a listing of our member CPA’s.

The Small Business Administration’s 7a Loan program is designed for individuals or small businesses to purchase a business, real estate, or for working capital and has interest rates below 3% up to a 25-year term. This is a great program for those who cannot receive traditional financing through their bank. To qualify for this loan, you must have fewer than 500 employees or less than $20.5 million in average annual receipts.

Join us this Wednesday, March 9^th, as the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) Investor Panel Presentations return in person on the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC). Nine students from various schools in our region will present their individual business ideas in a 3-minute presentation to four local business leaders and entrepreneurs in the hopes of receiving funding to advance their business. You will also have the opportunity to hear from Boca’s Serial-Entrepreneur, Dan Cane with Modernizing Medicine, as he shares insight on his challenges and successes in his successful career. This year's Boca chapter winner will represent our region in the national competition later this year. Click here to register.

Business Leader of the Year – Ethan Shapiro, Head of School, Saint Andrew’s School

Business of the Year – Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC)

Small Business Leader of the Year - Erick Solms, President, Simplitfy

We hope you will join us on Friday, May 20^th at Boca West Country Club. In addition to attending and supporting the event through sponsorship, you also have the opportunity to show your support for the recipients by placing a congratulatory advertisement in the program. Contact Chasity Navarro at cnavarro@bocachamber.com for details.

Looking for a quick way to find an event, register for an event, and receive pop-up notifications of important Chamber, County, City of Boca Raton, and City of Boynton Beach information? Download the Boca Chamber App – found on the App Store and Google Play Store. Keep your Chamber at the tip of your fingers! You can also stay up to date on all Chamber activities by visiting us at bocachamber.com.

Below is a list of our upcoming in-person and virtual experiences:

3/9 – 11:45 a.m. In-Person Boynton Beach Lunch and Learn 

For more information and to register, click here

3/9 – 4:30 p.m. In-Person YEA! Investor Panel Competition 

For more information and to register, click here

3/12 – 11:00 a.m. In-Person Community Cookout

For more information and to register, click here

3/12 – 8:00 a.m. In-Person Master Class Business Workshop

For more information and to register, click here

The Delray Beach City Commission is considering a proposal to have the Boca Raton Museum of Art manage the Old School Square Complex. The Old School Square campus is made up of The Crest Theatre and Cornell Art Museum, which includes a creative arts school, fieldhouse and pavilion in downtown Delray Beach. The proposed discussion is currently considering an 18-month management agreement.

City of Boynton Beach