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Tallahassee Trend
The '06 Agenda
In Jeb Bush's last session, the Legislature has billions to play with as it considers everything from tax cuts to land conversation.
? Economic Development
The governor usually has a list of incentives and subsidies for business growth, and this year the legislative proposal adds up to $630 million aimed at what Bush says will be higher-paying jobs for more highly educated people.
The biggest single item is $250 million for what Bush calls "once in a lifetime" opportunities to land a big new venture like the Scripps Research Institute, which the state lured with $310 million from a one-time federal program. The plan has detractors. If the state invested more in the quality of education, it wouldn't have to "bribe" businesses to come here, Democratic Rep. Anne Gannon of Delray Beach told the Palm Beach Post.
Among other proposals, Bush hopes to push through $75 million in venture-capital tax credits for financing of early-stage businesses and "energy diversity tax credits" for hydrogen-fuel vehicles, hydrogen and other "clean fuel" filling stations, hydrogen fuel cells and production of biodiesel and ethanol.
Bush also is advocating stepped-up efforts to attract space-related businesses as the space shuttle program moves toward an end by 2010 and as competition from other states grows ["Countdown," July 2005, FloridaTrend.com]. Among the proposals is a consolidation of Florida's space-related agencies and spending $35 million to help Florida businesses and space-related organizations get contracts to assemble and launch the so-called Crew Exploration Vehicle, the successor to the shuttle that is designed for interplanetary travel.
Bush's budget calls for $630 million to fund business growth -- including $250 million for "once in a lifetime" opportunities.
? Tort Reform
Squarely in the crosshairs of business interests this year is the legal doctrine of "joint and several liability." The doctrine, which dates back hundreds of years, says that if several defendants share responsibility for some harm but one can't pay its share, the others have to pay up to keep the victim whole.
The assault on joint and several is part of the overall "tort reform" campaign -- one destined to be a perennial legislative issue because lobbyists on both sides are so well-funded. The issue, whether in the guise of capping legal fees, imposing doctor discipline or capping damages, tends to play out in dueling anecdotes. The Florida Chamber of Commerce likes to cite a Disney case brought by a woman who was riding in one of the little race cars at the attraction when her boyfriend slammed into the back of her. Although Disney was held only 1% responsible and the boyfriend 85%, Disney ended up paying 86% of the damages, the chamber says. For chamber lobbyist and Executive Vice President Mark Wilson, the issue is "fairness" to businesses that get sued.
Sammy Cacciatore, who chairs a trial lawyers committee opposing the chamber's repeal efforts, says extreme cases like the one involving Disney were addressed in a tort reform bill 20 years ago. The latest effort, he says, is really an effort to shift the burden of an injury onto the victims themselves or onto the state through social programs such as Medicaid.
Previous components of "tort reform," notes the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, have failed to produce any noticeable reduction in insurance premiums.
In addition to the Florida Chamber, which sees repealing joint and several as job No. 1 in meeting its goal of becoming the alpha dog of business lobbying, the effort to repeal joint and several also has a champion in House Speaker Allan Bense, who wants to pass the legislation in the first two weeks of the session. The Senate is more skeptical of tort reform, so this will be a big bargaining chip between the two chambers.
? Other Notables
It hasn't a prayer, but Rep. Susan Bucher (D-Lantana) has introduced legislation that requires every employer with more than 10,000 employees in Florida to spend at least 7% of payroll on healthcare for its workers or pay any deficiency from that into a state health fund. Business lobby Associated Industries of Florida derides it as a "payroll tax" and "a wolf in sheep's clothing."
Restrictions on constitutional amendments will be discussed again, along with a complete rewrite of the constitution to weed out the trivial and the troublesome. The chamber also wants a crackdown on "petition fraud" by signature gatherers. A requirement of a 60% supermajority is already on the ballot for this fall.
The Florida Association of Colleges and Universities once again is urging the Legislature to fund the matching program for major donations to state universities and to increase financial aid for Florida residents at independent colleges and universities. It is resisting state aid for students at for-profit universities.
