In its first year, the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, within the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), provided $85 million for public infrastructure and job training projects that support growth and employment in Florida’s diverse industries. In 2019-2020, another $40 million will be provided for public infrastructure and job training projects in Florida. The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is authorized to award grant funds to projects that “promote economic opportunity by improving public infrastructure and enhancing workforce training.” DEO and Enterprise Florida are responsible for soliciting proposals and making funding recommendations to the Governor.
The following types of projects are eligible for approval:
AIF SUPPORTS targeted infrastructure investments to catalyze certain regions and/or sectors. For example, we support the rapid growth of the emerging Florida commercial aerospace industry by focusing on projects such as the rebuild of decaying bridges along State Road 401 entering Canaveral Air Force Station.
AIF SUPPORTS investment in building a world-class marketing engine with top talent, analytics, and funding that develops and executes data-driven branding strategies. Tourism is our state’s leading industry. Not only does our state revenue rely on tourism, many other businesses in our state rely heavily on out-of-state visitors for revenue. We must ensure that VISIT FLORIDA is fully funded to assist in keeping visitors coming to our state.
AIF SUPPORTS Enterprise Florida’s mission to pursue a more focused mandate to grow existing Florida companies and attract new ones that offer desirable job fields for the 21st century.
AIF SUPPORTS legislative efforts to help Florida compete for high wage jobs in film, television and the digital media industry. Our great state has much to offer and a sound, fiscally responsible program will help us attract the high wage jobs we have lost to Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana and California in recent years.
To promote greater transparency in government, protect due process rights and acknowledge the “digital divide,” AIF SUPPORTS requirements that public notices be printed in local newspapers as defined by Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, as well as displayed on the Internet.
AIF recognizes that immigration reform is an important issue for our state but contends it should be dealt with at the federal level. AIF OPPOSES efforts to mandate the use of the E-Verify system by employers.
Mandating E-Verify would have a negative effect on employers, especially those small business owners who do not have full-fledged human resource departments. In addition, fears of racial profiling could make it harder for businesses to recruit employees and could harm Florida’s tourism industry.
AIF SUPPORTS legislative efforts to modernize the Capital Investment Tax Credit program to help Florida compete for sustainable high wage jobs for the development of leading-edge intellectual property projects.
Florida’s rural communities and the small businesses they rely upon have not recovered from the recession. This is largely due to the contraction of community banks and the lack of other sources of growth and expansion capital for entrepreneurs and small business in our rural communities. AIF SUPPORTS the Florida Rural Jobs and Business Recovery Act sponsored by Senator Bill Montford and Representative Jason Shoaf, that will help small businesses throughout rural Florida access private capital in order to create and retain good paying permanent jobs.
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