While the Florida Legislature only meets sporadically throughout the year, Associated Industries advocates on behalf of Florida’s employers on a full-time basis all year long. We constantly monitor the actions of each branch of state government - legislative, executive, and judicial – to keep our members informed of their initiatives and to activate our membership to respond when the business community is threatened.
Business needs AIF to stand firm against challenges to prosperity - whether they come from special interest groups seeking laws that stifle economic progress or from bureaucrats transferring more resources to government.
AIF organizes its advocacy effort toward promoting conditions of economic liberty in support of the people who create jobs, pay wages, and supply goods and services to the citizens of Florida. We use various media to deliver specific and general messages crafted with our guiding principles in mind:
AIF Councils and Committees allow members to take a leadership role in the public policy issues that affect their companies. They put together members who have a common interest with the experts of our lobby team to discuss the main issues of the day. They give members an opportunity to discuss their concerns with top government officials, to provide input on the development of rules and regulations, to analyze key legislation, and to plan strategy for passing or defeating legislation. Member input and ideas are then used to help drive policy to the AIF Board of Directors and build AIF’s agenda for each legislative session.
Secondary Metal – Aided in passing legislation that makes the costly theft of these metals more difficult, as well as increases criminal penalties for theft of metals used by electric & other utilities.
Telecommunications De-Reg – Aided in passing legislation that reduces unnecessary industry regulation and increases consumer choice.
Immigration – Successfully defeated legislation that would have mandated that all employers use the federal E–Verify system.
Economic Stimulus Package – Put forth a package of economic recovery proposals endorsed by over 25 business groups in Florida, of which several measures were passed by the Legislature, including a new economic development program known as New Markets Development, which will infuse $250 million of private investment in Florida’s low income communities during the program’s first year of existence.
Economic Development Incentives – Aided in passing a major incentive package that expands the state’s corporate income tax exemption and provides sales tax exemptions that will help grow the state’s manufacturing, film, agriculture, and aerospace industries.
Digital Learning – Aided in passing legislation that expands digital learning options for public school students in grades K-5.
Beverage Container Deposits – Defeated legislation that would have created a mandatory deposit on bottles.
Numeric Nutrient Criteria – Aided in passing legislation that ratified proposed numeric nutrient criteria rules developed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Environmental Permitting – Aided in passing legislation that streamlines permitting across Florida’s 5 water management districts.
Environmental Regulation – Aided in passing legislation that streamlines the environmental permitting process across all state agencies.
Community Renewal Act – Aided in passing legislation to relax some of the state’s growth management laws to encourage economic activity in Florida.
Residential Construction Warranties – Aided in passing legislation that provides that the implied warranty for a home does not include off-site infrastructure.
Public Hospitals – Aided in passing legislation that provides greater public oversight in the sale or lease of a county, district, or municipal hospital.
Mandatory Contracting – Successfully defeated legislation that would have eliminated the competitive bid process by forcing hospitals to contract with certain health plans.
Citizens Insurance Reduction – Aided in passing legislation to return Citizens to an insurer of last resort.
Surplus Lines – Aided in passing legislation to ensure access to this important line of coverage for employers.
Residential Property Insurance – Aided in passing legislation to provide consumer choice for selecting residential insurance policies.
Personal Injury Protection – Aided in passing legislation to reform Florida’s broken auto insurance system by addressing a number of premium cost drivers.
Workers’ Compensation – Aided in passing legislation to restore fairness and predictability to Florida’s workers’ comp system and retain the savings resulting from the 2003 reforms.
Workers’ Compensation – Aided in repealing an arcane provision in Florida’s regulatory framework known as “excess profits,” thus alleviating these burdensome regulations.
Tort Reform – AIF and the Florida Coalition for Legal Reform helped pass much needed legal reform legislation, most notably the historic repeal of joint and several liability as well as supersedeas bond limitation.
Vicarious Liability – Defeated legislation that would have created a drastic increase in liability for car truck rental companies.
Insurance - Defeated legislation that would have caused a tax increase on Florida's insurance industry.
Corporate Income Tax Changes – Successfully defeated an attempt to enact a substantial tax increase for employers in Florida.
Corporate Income Tax Glitch – Aided in passing legislation to fix a costly glitch in Florida’s corporate income tax laws.
Value Adjustment Boards/ Highest and Best Use – Aided in passing legislation that helps protect businesses from over-taxation and establishes fairness in the VAB process.
Non-Homestead Assessments – Aided in passing a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce assessments caps from 10% to 5%.
Unemployment Compensation – Aided in passing legislation to decrease employer contributions.
Tangible Personal Property – Aided in passing a proposed constitutional amendment that would provide small businesses with an additional tax exemption on TPP.
Communication Services Tax – Aided in passing legislation to update and modernize definitions related to the CST.
Online Travel – Successfully defeated legislation that would have permanently provided online travel companies with an unfair tax advantage over Florida based hotels and motels.
Seaport Security – Aided in passing legislation that eliminates duplications in security credentials and reduces costs for tenants in Florida’s 14 deep water ports.
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