The Florida House is holding firm against spending money on the new Enterprise Florida business “tie.”
House and Senate negotiators on state economic projects and infrastructure needs moved closer Sunday to bringing the operating budgets for Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida to the current year’s levels.
But the House has yet to budge on its refusal to put any money toward the new branding logo from the state’s public-private economic development agency, which shows an orange men’s necktie as the “i” in “Florida.”
“Somebody above my level needs to fix that,” said Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, who heads the House efforts in the negotiations regarding transportation, tourism and economic development projects.
The Senate, during the talks, has maintained a budget line of $1.5 million for the brand that was intended to reflect the state’s business foundation. The brand has drawn some heat for neglecting women by featuring a symbol of male business attire.
Enterprise Florida has proposed a $4.5 million campaign to attract news businesses to the state that features the “tie” and slogan “Florida is the perfect climate for business.” When the new brand was introduced in January, the proposal was to use $3 million in state dollars, with $1.5 million from private contributions.
Talks will continue into Monday into the combined budgets, estimated just under $11.4 billion, for the Division of Emergency Management, Department of Economic Opportunity, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Military Affairs, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
The conference committees have until Tuesday afternoon to compete negotiations before legislative leaders would handle unresolved issues.
Individual items negotiators for the House and Senate have agreed to support:
Orlando
National Entrepreneur Center, $600,000
Research and development library, Orange County Library, $250,000
Archbold Biological Station restoration, Highlands, $348,724
Bok Tower Gardens Tower restoration, Lake Wales, $350,000
Pine Hills pedestrian bridge, State Road 438, Orange County, $800,000
West Orange County Economic Development Business Center, $1 million
Coast-to-Coast Connector, St. Petersburg-Orlando-Titusville, $50 million
Southeast
Miami Design District, $1 million
Bay of Pigs Museum, $1 million
Coral Gables Museum, $200,000
Military Museum of South Florida, $500,000
Holocaust Documentation and Education Center rail car, Hollywood, $500,000
Miami Science Museum, $100,000
Transportation Hub Facility, Broward County, $500,000
Torry Island Master Plan, Belle Glade, $75,000
Glades area street resurfacing, $1 million
N.W. 21st Street roadway improvements, Lauderdale Lakes, $484,000
Urban League of Broward County, $1.2 million
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services’ Non Custodial Parent Program, Miami-Dade County, $666,000
Southwest
Captain Hendry House rehabilitation, LaBelle, $43,000
Historic Hendry County Courthouse renovation, $1.5 million
Naples Botanical Gardens, $500,000
Florida Arts Inc., Lee County, $328,000
East Coast
North Bay Village, John F. Kennedy Causeway, $125,000
Golden Gate Building, Hobe Sound, $1.4 million
Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse, $500,000
Bethune-Cookman Economic Development Consortium, Daytona Beach, $250,000
Coast-to-Coast Connector, St. Petersburg-Orlando-Titusville, $50 million
First Coast
Ximenez-Fatio House Museum Restoration, St. Johns County, $300,000
St. Augustine historical documentary film, $500,000
Government House Phase II renovations, St. Augustine, $1 million
Alcazar Hotel/Lightner Museum restoration, St. Augustine, $750,000
40 St. George Street, historic renovation, St. Augustine, $750,000
Buckland House restoration, Duval, $103,150
Flagler College, Ponce de Leon Dining Hall/Hotel Ponce de Leon, St. Augustine, $400,000
Tampa-St. Pete
Tampa Bay Innovation Center-St. Petersburg Technology Incubator, $400,000
Metropolitan Ministries Transitional Family Housing Project, Pasco County, $1.3 million
Florida Conservation and Technology Park, $2.5 million
Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, $332,000
Clearwater Marine Museum, $1 million
Florida Holocaust Museum, St. Petersburg, $500,000
Murray Studio Theater at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $500,000
Capitol Theatre renovation, Clearwater, $1 million
Frank Lloyd Wright House, Florida Southern College, $750,000
Annie Pheiffer Chapel, Florida Southern College, $350,000
Salvation Army Transitional Housing Project, Polk County, $500,000
Frostproof Workforce Infrastructure, $500,000
Fannye Ponder House, St. Petersburg, $78,750
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, $500,000
Consolidation study of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, $200,000
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services’ Non Custodial Parent Program, Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties, $750,000
Coast-to-Coast Connector, St. Petersburg-Orlando-Titusville, $50 million
Big Bend and Panhandle
Mossy Head Industrial Park infrastructure, Walton County, $1.8 million
Calhoun County Historic Courthouse renovations, $649,000
Cape San Blas Lighthouse relocation, Port St. Joe, $325,000
Stephen Foster Carillon Tower restoration, $347,000
The Grove, Tallahassee, $250,000
Museum of Florida, $1 million
Okaloosa County Library, $85,635
