SB 7023 – relating to Economic Development
On Friday, May 2nd, SB 7023, relating to Economic Development, by House Economic Development & Tourism Subcommittee and Representative Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) unanimously passed the Senate chamber and then the House chamber. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
This bill does a number of things, including making technical changes to statutes, directs Space Florida to consult with VISIT Florida in developing a space tourism marketing plan, promotes the goals of accountability and proper stewardship by recipients of the state's loan programs and most importantly, exempts new small business developments from transportation concurrency requirements and proportionate share requirements for three years.
AIF supports legislation that will assist Florida's small businesses and encourage economic development in our state.
HB 7095 – relating to Professional Sports Facilities Incentive Application Process
On Friday, May 2nd, HB 7095, relating to Professional Sports Facilities Incentive Application Process, by House Economic Affairs Committee and Representative Jimmy Patronis (R-Panama City) passed the Senate chamber with amendments by a 35-3 vote. The bill then passed the House chamber by an 89-27 vote. Senator Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) sponsored by the Senate companion bill. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
The bill creates the Professional Sports Facility Incentive Program process to provide state funding for the public purpose of constructing, reconstructing, renovating, or improving a professional sports facility. The bill creates a new application, review, and approval process for funding sports facilities, but does not require any expenditure of funds. It also caps the total potential annual distributions at $12 million in General Revenue funds. Once an applicant has been approved by the Legislature and certified by the Department of Economic Opportunity, the DEO shall determine the annual distribution based on the estimate of new incremental states sales taxes provided in the Expected Sales Tax Analysis. A certified applicant may receive up to 75 percent of the estimate or $2 million, whichever is less.
AIF supports this bill because of the positive impact that professional sports have on Florida’s economy and the thousands of jobs they provide to Floridians.
HB 325 – relating to Brownfields
On Tuesday, April 29th, HB 325, relating to Brownfields, by Representative Charlie Stone (R-Ocala) and Representative Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) and unanimously passed the Senate chamber. Senator Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) sponsored the Senate companion bill. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
The bill clarifies, in statute, the process for designation of a Brownfields area and offers liability protection for anyone responsible for rehabilitation of a Brownfields site. Subsequently, the bill encourages redevelopment in our state’s Brownfields areas.
AIF supports any legislation promoting Florida’s Brownfield Program as it provides a variety of financial and regulatory incentives encouraging parties to voluntarily clean up and redevelop Brownfield sites. By restoring Brownfield sites, the properties return to the tax rolls quicker and become useful to their community.
HB 685 – relating to Business Organizations
On Tuesday, April 29th, HB 685, relating to Business Organizations, by Representative Patrick Rooney, Jr. (R-Palm Beach Gardens) and Representative Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne) was substituted for SB 654 and unanimously passed the Senate chamber. Senator Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) sponsored the Senate companion bill. The bill now heads to the Governor for consideration.
The bill amends the Florida Business Corporation Act to allow for the creation of two new forms of corporate enterprise: the social purpose corporation and the benefit corporation. These new entities will allow businesses to engage in societal benefit programs that may not involve or satisfy the traditional corporate norm of profit maximization. The new forms of corporation are similar, the primary difference being that a social purpose corporation has a specified social purpose or purposes designated in advance, whereas a benefit corporation is to create a general public benefit in a manner selected by management and assessed by a third-party standard.
AIF supports this legislation that will attract new businesses and entrepreneurs to the state of Florida.
