Legislative Leaders Announce Jobs Summit

Dec 24, 2009

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s next Senate president and House speaker announced today they will convene a statewide-focused Florida Jobs Summit in January to build consensus on a policy direction for the 2010 session of the Florida Legislature for boosting investment, economic growth and job creation in the Sunshine State.

The Florida Jobs Summit will be held in Orlando Jan. 14-15, 2010, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, and will bring together diverse stakeholders representing business, government, education and labor to discuss and develop a smart, strong and strategic agenda for restoring the state’s economy to robust growth.

The leaders have spoken with Gov. Crist, who supports the summit and intends to contribute policy recommendations. Members of Florida’s cabinet are also being asked to participate at the summit.

“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,” said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, president-designate of the Florida Senate. “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 move follows news that Florida’s November unemployment reached 11.5 percent – the highest in 34 years, according to the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation. That figure represents more than a million jobless Floridians. 

“This tough national economy lends profound urgency to our mission as legislators to help restart robust economic growth in our state,” said Rep. Dean Cannon, speaker-designate of the Florida House of Representatives. “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.”

With some economists predicting Florida’s job woes may persist to 2012 or beyond, the Summit will focus on developing a meaningful state strategy in three key action areas:

• Identifying and removing barriers to new jobs development,

• Developing appropriate financial and tax incentives to lure new jobs to Florida, and

• Enabling existing employers to create new jobs and retain existing jobs.

Already, leaders of several key professional organizations have indicated support for the summit and an intention to actively participate. Groups that have already expressed such interest include Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Retail Federation, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the
AFL-CIO and the Florida Education Association.

Additional details about the Jobs Summit will be announced in the coming days.


###

Click here to return to the News Archive