Gov. Rick Scott's transition team released a report of ideas, which is summarized in the AP article below. Some of them are pretty aggresive ideas.
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Transition team wants Florida to boost business
Associated Press - from the Miami Herald HERE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- President Calvin Coolidge once said "the chief business of the American people is business."
And Governor-elect Rick Scott's economic development transition team has recommended ways that he likewise can make business Florida's business when he takes office Jan. 4.
Scott needs little urging.
The multimillionaire Republican outsider, who made his fortune in the health care industry, campaigned on a platform of reducing taxes and regulations on businesses and creating 700,000 jobs in seven years. Those new jobs would be besides 1 million expected to be produced through Florida's economic recovery over that span.
Scott has repeatedly said was elected due to one issue and that's "getting the state back to work." By that he means working in the private, not public, sector. He's promised to cut the state work force by 5 percent.
The transition team has offered some ideas for achieving his job goal by expanding Florida businesses and attracting new ones.
A report released late Wednesday includes a variety of tax- and fee-cutting and cost-saving proposals.
It also, though, calls for doubling the state's tourism promotion budget to $62.5 million, noting Florida now ranks fifth in spending behind Hawaii, California, Illinois and Texas.
That proposal drew praise Thursday from Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association president and CEO Carol Dover. She said the new spending is urgently needed because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill earlier this year.
"The state is still reeling from the oil and the perception of oil washing ashore our pristine beaches, and no industry was hit harder than Florida's hotels and restaurants," Dover said in a statement.
The report predicts the increase would generate 1.6 million more visits to the state, boost sales tax collections by $225 million every year and create 35,000 new jobs.
Another recommendation is to appoint a "Cabinet level" official to spearhead economic development. Adding an actual Cabinet position would need voter approval of a constitutional amendment, probably no sooner than 2012, but the report recommends it's something Scott should do in his first 90 days.
The team says in those first three months Scott also should announce he'll attend major economic events such as the International Paris Air Show in June, set up meetings with economic development officials statewide, align state agency missions with job creation and reach out to key business prospects.
The report recommends one agency lead the way to remove duplicative efforts and that legislation to restructure the state's economic development efforts should be the first bill passed and signed into law next year.
Scott already plans to phase out Florida's corporate income tax. His proposal for a first-year rate reduction is expected to cost the state $835 million and widen a budget gap of at least $3.5 billion forecast for the next fiscal year starting July 1.
In addition, the report recommends up to a two-year moratorium on impact fees paid by builders and developers, property tax exemptions for targeted industries and the repeal of a productivity requirement for getting a sales tax exemption on machinery and equipment.
Other proposals are for a payroll tax rebate of up to 10 percent for creating jobs that pay more than 200 percent of the average state wage and tax credits as well as matching funds for research and development.
The transition team also has proposed cutting corporation fees. The report says the Department of State needs only $93 million of the $240 million it collects annually. The remaining $147 million goes for other state functions such as schools and health care.
Another recommendation is to evaluate the need for other department functions - cultural and historic activities, the state library and grants to local libraries.
The panel also has some ideas for reducing unemployment compensation taxes paid by businesses. They include cutting off compensation to unemployed people who don't make a sufficient effort to look for work and requiring community work if they can't find jobs after 12 weeks.
Scott met privately with a series of transition teams totaling more than 200 members this week in Fort Lauderdale to receive their recommendations. In statements his transition office has said only that he'll consider all the recommendations.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/23/1986742/transition-team-wants-florida.html#ixzz18yUpaAa2
