January 15, 2009

As one of his first actions as Senate President, Senator Jeff Atwater (R-North Palm Beach) announced the creation of a Select Committee on Florida’s Economy.  The charge of this powerful committee will be to “create incentives and eliminate impediments to recovery and growth and ensure that government functions more simply, more transparently, less expensively, and more effectively.”

Additionally, the Committee has been asked to travel the state and take testimony from business owners, both large and small, on ways to improve Florida’s business climate during these difficult economic times.  AIF urges all of its members to take advantage of this unique opportunity to influence policy-making in Tallahassee.

The details on the public hearings are included below and are open to the public.  Please contact Jose Gonzalez, AIF Vice President of Government Affairs, at 850-224-7173 or email at jgonzalez@aif.com for more information on these hearings or if you plan to attend. This will allow us to communicate with committee staff and ensure that you will have a spot on the agenda.  Also, should you plan on providing testimony, we recommend that you provide your comments in writing to the Committee so that it can be included in the official record.

In addition, we have included a letter from Senate President Atwater and Chairman Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) to business leaders asking for their input in this process.

Senate Select Committee Meetings: