By: John Kennedy
The News Service of Florida
A jobs and economic development bill – powered by a $187 million, three-year price-tag – sailed Thursday through the Senate on a 38-0 vote, after several controversial permitting provisions were stripped from the measure.
The bill (CS/SB 1752) pumps $30 million into the state’s threatened space industry, while providing millions more in tax breaks to companies hiring unemployed Floridians, manufacturers buying new equipment and various tax incentives for film production, boat- and aircraft manufacturers, and on building material used in enterprise zones around the state.
The House has promoted a more modest jobs package. With the Senate package complete, much of the focus now may center on how wide-ranging and costly a final deal will be.
“This bill is a hit on general revenue,” conceded Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, sponsor of the measure. But, he added, “If we expect any sort of harvest next year, we can’t eat all of the seed corn.”
Business groups have praised the legislation, contending it will go a long way toward easing the state’s 11.9 percent unemployment rate. The legislation also contains tax breaks and incentives backed almost annually by many of these organizations – with such efforts this year gaining the added luster of promising job creation.
Although Gaetz said that Democratic Sen. Jeremy Ring’s “DNA is all over this bill,” the sponsor was able to earn support from the rest of Democrats only after removing measures that would have limited city and county oversight of environmental permitting and make it more difficult for local governments to challenge construction projects on water, air pollution and wetlands issues.
