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 backed 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 the businesses that 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.”
One of the other chamber-backed efforts is the extension of the state’s marketing agency, VISIT FLORIDA, which the legislature approved through SB 434. VISIT FLORIDA was previously a contentiously debated subject, as the agency went through financial scandal in years past.
The state’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research found that for every dollar invested into VISIT FLORIDA, the state receives $3.27 in return.
At the beginning of the legislative session, the Chamber was hopeful to build on the policies advocated for by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
“While many other states underwent pandemic-induced shutdowns that their economies have still yet to recover from, Florida’s economy continued its momentum forward – growing recently from the 17th to the 15th largest economy in the world, placing us ahead of Saudi Arabia and Mexico,” the Chamber said in their annual Where We Stand publication. “Thanks to the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida’s businesses remained open, vulnerable Floridians remained safe, and our economy kept moving, while continuing to build Florida’s brand nationally.”
However, the chamber has been quiet related to the recent spat between DeSantis and notable chamber member Disney centered around the recently passed bill ensuring parental rights in education.
Disney came out opposed to the legislation and DeSantis responded forcefully.
“How do they possibly explain lining their pockets with their relationship from the Communist Party of China? Because that’s what they do, and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices at the hands of the CCP,” DeSantis said.
Florida TaxWatch also touted their advocacy for broadband expansion. While the legislature declined to pass broadband expansion, TaxWatch reiterated the need for rural Floridians.
“According to FTW, statewide, 96.2 percent of Floridians have access to broadband speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), 96.8 percent have access to wired broadband connection with speeds of 25 Mbps or greater, and 27.6 percent have access to one gigabit of broadband. More than 460,000 Floridians do not have a wired connection capable of these speeds.
County access ranges from one percent in Dixie County to 100 percent in Pinellas County, with broadband coverage greater than 95 percent in about half (33) of Florida’s counties. FTW identifies six Florida counties that have broadband coverage of less than 50 percent: Dixie, Gilchrist, Holmes, Jefferson, Levy, and Washington.”
TaxWatch also opposed to a provision in SB 620, which passed the legislature, that provide a route for businesses to seek damages from governments if they can prove an ordinance cause a 15 percent loss of income. The group warned it could lead to “financially motivated and malicious lawsuits.”
TaxWatch will be releasing its annual “Budget Turkeys” report soon before DeSantis signs the budget.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
