Following in the footsteps of the White House in early December, Florida legislators will convene a jobs summit on January 14 & 15, 2010 to discuss strategic policy directions in support of economic growth and job creation in the state.
The announcement of jobs summit was made by Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Speaker of the House Dean Cannon on Tuesday.
“Almost every Floridian knows a friend or a family member who has lost a job or is otherwise suffering as a result of this crippling recession,” Haridopolos said. “Creating jobs will be job No. 1 for the Florida Legislature in the 2010 session, and this Jobs Summit is about coming together around an effective plan to grow our economy and make Florida more attractive to new investment that will spur the creation of new, good-paying jobs.”
The summit will take place against the backdrop of Florida’s 11.5 percent unemployment rate in November, the highest in 35 years, and one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Meanwhile, unemployment in Metro Orlando stood at 11.8 percent in November 2009.
“This tough national economy lends profound urgency to our mission as legislators to help restart robust economic growth in our state,” Cannon said. “As Florida’s leaders, we must take smart and aggressive steps to provide new incentives for job creation in Florida and remove government obstacles to growth.”
The summit will focus specifically on three priority areas:
* Identifying and removing barriers to new jobs development.
* Developing appropriate financial and tax incentives to lure new jobs to Florida.
* Enabling existing employers to create new jobs and retain existing jobs.
Participants at the summit will include representatives from the business sector, government agencies, private sector, education and labor leaders. Organizations like the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business are expected to attend.
The summit will be held at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando.
