Message to Lawmakers: The Economy and Jobs

By Commissioner Jeff Koons

The 2009 Florida Legislative Session gets underway the first week in March, and with a steadily worsening economy, home foreclosures on the rise, property values dropping, and more state-mandated cuts in property tax revenue anticipated, our lobbying efforts in Tallahassee will be more important than ever. County staff has identified 31 legislative priorities, appropriation requests and support issues that we hope our state lawmakers will get behind. Of these, 10 are new, never-before-submitted items.

Our top priority this year is a call for the state to restore consumer confidence through new economic stimulus legislation. A major investment in new infrastructure, similar to what federal lawmakers are proposing, will be a key to Florida’s economic recovery. There also should be an allocation of funds to rehabilitate aging water and wastewater systems, complying with overflow issues and promoting source water protection.

We would hope our state legislators will support efforts to create a Glades Utility Authority. This is an independent entity formed in partnership with the county and the cities of Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee to consolidate debt and initiate a fair and affordable system of collections for customers of the county-operated Lake Region Water Treatment Plant.

The proposed inland port (inland logistics center) in the Glades would provide thousands of new jobs and a strong tax base for the entire south-central region of the state. The county’s Economic Development Office is seeking $350,000 to develop an agricultural business training program for small growers in the Glades region. Program participants would learn how to use hydroponic systems to grow alternative and specialty crops, then effectively package and market their produce.

Our lobbyists will be asking for a modification to the eligibility criteria for Qualified Target Industry (QTI) businesses. The QTI tax refund is a tool available to encourage quality job growth in certain areas. The amendment would provide a grace period for expanding companies to hire new employees, as required by their QTI contracts. Additionally, we are seeking an expansion of the boundaries of the two designated enterprise zones in Palm Beach County.

Other new priority issues include requiring federal background checks for vehicle-for-hire drivers/employees, law enforcement screenings for summer camp personnel, and the creation of a prescription drug monitoring program. This tracking system would allow pharmacists to log prescriptions that are controlled substances into a state database, helping medical professionals block attempts by abusers from obtaining prescriptions from multiple doctors.

Our final new priority this year concerns homeless housing assistance grants. We’d like to see the rules amended to allow these monies to be used for acquisition of property that has an existing structure on it. Right now, homeless grants can only be used for new home construction or repair of existing houses. In today’s market, there are numerous apartment complexes that could have been purchased to provide immediate housing for the homeless. This change would add to the available housing stock for the homeless and enable the county to qualify for additional state funding.

Of course, there will be the continued push for the elimination of unfunded state mandates and cost shifts, and we will be pursuing a number of important appropriation requests, such as the Lake Region Water Treatment Plant ($3.5 million), Lake Worth Lagoon restoration ($5.46 million), beach and inlet management projects ($12.3 million), the Loxahatchee River Initiative ($4.28 million), a new DMV service center ($1.9 million), and various road widening projects ($15 million), not to mention a dedicated funding source for South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (Tri-Rail) operations.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions. Please feel free to contact me or my staff at 355-2202.