BRIDG: Growing Florida's Advanced Manufacturing Sector

/ Categories: Research, Economic Development

BRIDG was established as a not-for-profit, public-private partnership with support from state and local governments and leading manufacturing industry companies. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, state funding for BRIDG was withheld. BRIDG has the potential to generate thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs, with billions of dollars in total earnings and hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local tax revenues. BRIDG has the potential to establish Central Florida as a major hub, if not THE major hub, for information technology research, innovation, and manufacturing in the world. Florida TaxWatch presents this report in hope that the Governor and Legislature will continue its investment in BRIDG for fiscal year 2020-21 and beyond. 

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Durante la incertidumbre del COVID-19, el Censo 2020 importa aún más

/ Categories: Op-Eds

A medida que el impacto del coronavirus, o COVID-19, continúa extendiéndose a través de nuestro estado y nuestra nación, también lo hace la incertidumbre que trae a cada comunidad que toca. Empresas están cerrando, todo está cancelado, el desempleo está aumentando a un ritmo récord y el Congreso está aprobando el proyecto de ley de ayuda por desastre más grande en la historia de nuestro país, destinando billones de dólares para ayudar a combatir los impactos económicos de esta pandemia.

Sin duda, estamos viviendo tiempos inciertos sin precedentes, pero durante las crisis es que vemos lo mejor de nuestros compañeros residentes de Florida. En estos últimos días y semanas, muchos han buscado formas de ayudar, y tenemos una simple sugerencia: lea su periódico y complete el Censo 2020.

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Complete your 2020 census questionnaire. It takes 10 minutes. It's your civic duty

/ Categories: Op-Eds

As the impact of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to spread across our state and nation, so too does the uncertainty it brings to every community it touches. Businesses are shuttering. Everything is canceled. Unemployment is climbing at a record pace. And Congress on Friday passed the largest disaster relief bill in our nation’s history, directing trillions of dollars to help beat back the economic impacts of this pandemic. President Trump signed the bill into law late Friday afternoon.
We are undoubtedly living in unprecedented and uncertain times, but it is during crises that we see the very best in our fellow Floridians. Over these past days and weeks, many have looked for ways to help and we have a simple suggestion — read your newspaper and complete the 2020 Census.

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«March 2020»
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2/25/2020

Diverting Tourist Development Tax Revenue

Tourist Development Taxes (TDTs) play a vital role in Florida counties’ promotion of tourism in their areas. Over the years, the Legislature has added more and more authorized uses of this revenue, diluting the funding available for tourism promotion and advertising. During the 2020 session, efforts to further expanded the authorized uses are continuing. The “slippery slope” warning raised by the tourism industry and Florida TaxWatch in the past has become a reality. 

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2/26/2020

An Independent Assessment of the Impact of Broward College

On January 30th, 2019, Governor DeSantis signed an Executive Order establishing the goal to make Florida number 1 in the U.S. for workforce education by 2030 and to ensure that Florida students are ready for high-demand, high-wage jobs. Building a workforce in health services, transportation, education, computing, trade, utilities, and jobs that require an industry certification or license will require a sizable investment of public and private funds. In this report, TaxWatch takes a fresh look at Broward College, how it compares to other institutions of higher learning in the Tri-County South Florida region, and its return on investment. 

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2728
2/28/2020

Budget Watch - House and Senate Budgets for FY2020-21

With a little over two weeks remaining in the 2020 Legislative Session, there is still much to be decided about how more than $90 billion in taxpayer money will be spent next year. The General Appropriations Act is the only bill the Legislature is constitutionally required to pass. Budget conference negotiations will formally begin soon, likely next week. Since lawmakers are constitutionally required to wait 72 hours before a final vote, a mutually agreed-upon budget must be produced by Tuesday, March 10 in order for an on-time finish of the session on Friday, March 13. As we prepare to head into conference, this analysis looks at what is in the two budgets and what the major differences are.

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3/2/2020

HB7087 — Proposed Merger of SUS Institutions

HB 7087, upon becoming law, would require the Boards of Trustees of Florida Polytechnic University (Florida Poly), New College of Florida (New College), and the University of Florida (UF) to submit to applications for merger to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSSCOC). Upon approval of the mergers, New College and Florida Poly would become part of UF and specified items and assets of New College and Florida Poly would be transferred to UF.

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34
3/4/2020

Session Spotlight - Provisions in the House Tax Package & Corresponding Senate Legislation

It appears the 2020 Legislature will cut taxes again. As has been a recent practice, the House Ways & Means Committee developed a package of tax cuts and other tax-related provisions, while the Senate has moved individual tax bills through committee. We likely will not see the Senate’s full tax proposal until the House bill (HB 7097) reaches the Senate floor and it offers an amendment. 

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3/9/2020

Q2 2019-20 Broward Schools SMART Program Report Review

Presented to the Broward County Bond Oversight Committee March 9, 2020 

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10
3/10/2020

Expanding The Practice Authority for Florida’s Nurse Practitioners

By 2030, Florida is expected to need an additional 4,671 primary care physicians. This shortage ultimately will result in limited access to care (especially in rural areas), higher healthcare costs, and reducing the quality of life for all. Floridians will start to experience the effects in the foreseeable future if a solution is not implemented. A proven cost-effective solution is to remove overly restrictive statutory barriers and allow nurse practitioners to practice to the full extent of their education and training.

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3/18/2020

What’s In and What’s Out of the Final 2020 Tax Package

The 2020 tax package (HB 7097) was amended many times as it moved through the process. At first, it grew topping $230 million in tax savings at one point. Then, citing a need to keep more money in reserves for COVID-19 response, it started getting smaller. The following is a description of all the provisions that were in the many versions of HB 7097. This report starts with what’s in the final and follows with what dropped out along the way.

 

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19
3/19/2020

2020 Florida Legislative Session Wrap-Up

The bills passed by the 2020 Legislature included many recommended or supported by Florida TaxWatch research. The following Legislative Wrap-Up discusses all these bills and more. It shows what passed and what did not—both issues supported by Florida TaxWatch research and other important bills we monitored all session long to keep our members and the public informed on our Legislative Update webpage.

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20
3/20/2020

An Independent Analysis of the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR) and its Impacts on Florida’s Medicaid Program

Florida TaxWatch has undertaken an independent review to assess the impacts of certain key changes proposed by MFAR that would have a far-reaching and dramatic impact on Florida’s Medicaid program, Florida’s safety-net providers, the 3.8 million Medicaid-eligible Floridians, and Florida taxpayers. Florida TaxWatch is pleased to present this summary report and its recommendations, and we look forward to a continued discussion with Florida lawmakers and policymakers.

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