The Florida Chamber of Commerce, one of Florida’s largest trade associations, released their annual Legislative Report Card and also announced their Distinguished Advocates for the 2022 Legislative Session. The chamber describes itself as an organization that supports free enterprise policies and has historically backed Republicans over Democrats.
The chamber said that their calculated average grade for all of Florida’s lawmakers was a 68 percent, equating to a “D.”
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The Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida TaxWatch have both announced their satisfaction with this year’s recently concluded Florida legislative session. They are organizations that advocate for free markets, taxpayers research, and a government watchdog, respectively.
One of the efforts the Chamber was backing was its repeat effort to pass COVID liability protections for Florida businesses. The bill, SB 7014, would extend the liability protections to an additional 14 months, all the way to June 1, 2023. The bill builds on last year’s SB 72, which said businesses who are sued over COVID procedures would have to prove there was a “good faith effort to substantially comply with authoritative or controlling government-issued health standards or guidance at the time the cause of action accrued.”
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The moving company, U-Haul, released its 2021 Growth Index of cities and markets that gained the most U-Haul trucks, and Florida has 10 cities in the report’s top 25.
U-Haul explained how it determined the rankings in the report.
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The state of Florida has restored more than 950,000 jobs that were lost due to the pandemic, according to Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Florida Chamber of Commerce (FCC), Dr. Jerry Parrish.
In an online presentation titled Florida By the Numbers published by the FCC, Parrish notes that the pandemic resulted in the loss of approximately 1.3 million jobs since April 2020, and that there are still 315,800 jobs to be restored in order to get back to “pre-COVID levels.”
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After a poll released by St. Pete Polls Tuesday had U.S. Representative Charlie Crist (D-FL-13) leading Governor DeSantis, a different poll released by the Florida Chamber of Commerce (FCC) on Friday showed the exact opposite.
Rather than being behind Crist, the FCC poll shows DeSantis ahead 51% to 43%, with an approval rating of 54% among all poll participants as opposed to 43.7% in the St. Pete Poll.
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Last week, the Florida Chamber of Commerce released their annual Legislative Report Card which reviews Florida’s lawmakers’ efforts during the legislative session and tabulates corresponding grade. The lawmakers’ grades are determined by alignment to Florida Chamber priorities and Where We Stand, another annual publication detailing the policy positions of the Florida Chamber heading into each legislative session.
For the 2021 Legislative Session, 88 lawmakers earned an “A” and 39 earned failing grades.
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On Wednesday, the Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll showing Governor Ron DeSantis leads each of his potential Democratic competitors by at least double-digit points in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
In a hypothetical head-to-head general election, DeSantis leads Rep. Charlie Crist 51-41. Against Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in the same scenario, DeSantis leads 51-39, and against Rep. Val Demings, DeSantis leads 53-38.
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Just before midnight Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 50 instituting sales tax requirements for online retailers, into law.
The bill requires out-of-state online retailers to collect and report sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians. The tax will bring in an estimated $1 billion in revenue, as well as limit taxes paid by Floridians and Florida businesses.
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by John Haughey A bill approving a decade-long, multi-billion dollar plan to extend three toll roads into rural “corridors” was formally sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday as opponents intensified demands he veto the measure and launched a week of scheduled protests. DeSantis has 10 working days to veto Senate Bill 7068, the proposed Multi-Use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance [M-CORES] program. Even if he does not sign it, the bill becomes law on May 28. SB 7068 – Senate President Bill Galvano’s session priority – earmarks $45 million to establish regional task forces to study M-CORES, the state’s most significant highway-building project since the 1950s, approved by the Senate, 37-1, and by the House, 76-36. M-CORES would build the 150-mile Heartland Parkway from Lakeland to Naples, push the Florida Turnpike 40 miles west to link I-75 with the Suncoast Parkway, and extend the Suncoast 150 miles north to Georgia. Construction would begin in 2022 and end in 2030. M-CORES would be funded through license plate tag revenues – $1.1 billion over a decade – shifted from the state’s general fund into the State Transportation Trust Fund [STTF]. But SB 7068 appropriates $45 million for Fiscal Year 2020, M-CORES’s…
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