Legislative Update
Greetings from Tallahassee Believe it or not the start of the 2018 Legislative Session is
right around the corner, January 9, 2018 to be exact. Legislative committee meetings should have already begun, although Hurri- cane Irma caused the first scheduled week to be canceled. Re- gardless the session will be here before you know it. Traditional- ly election year sessions are relatively uneventful—for the politi- cal junkies, the 2018 ballot will include: US Senate race, all Con- gressional representatives, Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture, half of the Flori- da Senate, all State House of Representative seats and proposed constitutional amendments, including recommendations from the Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC). Given the current political climate in Tallahassee, as well as the significant impacts from the unwelcomed visit by Hurricane Irma, 2018 might just be full of excitement. Without question the budget will be the most challenging as-
pect to the upcoming session. While every year there is copious debate on appropriate spending for the State’s budget, Irma’s impacts have evaporated the small surplus within the State’s budget and interrupted normal revenue collections. The storm’s impact has highlighted philosophical differences between the two chambers regarding use of general revenue dollars for traditional local projects versus only projects and programs which address post-hurricane rebuilding, response, and preparedness. The bot- tom line is early predictions suggest no tangible budget surplus and even traditional funding projects will be difficult to secure. From a policy perspective, defense will be the name of the
game. Certainly, a large focus of our work in Tallahassee re- volves protecting the various laws and exemptions which allow our members to effectively and efficiently conduct business. Ad- ditionally, given the focus on impacts and lessons learned from Hurricane Irma, we expect the legislature to spend a significant amount of time examining the Florida Building Code, disaster
preparation and response, as well as, other perceived defi- ciencies from private and pub- lic entities in the recovery from Irma. Given some of the issues and headlines following Irma, the renewed focus in Tallahas- see is timely however; part of our challenge will be watching proposed solutions
to make
sure well intended or misguid- ed ideas do not survive the pro- cess. On a more exciting note, and
building upon a renewed interest in Tallahassee, we look forward to having Federation members back in town during Florida Farm Bureau’s annual Tallahassee visit. 2017 was a beginning voyage for many members to walk the halls of the Capitol and educate elected officials on the positive impacts our events have around the State. We appreciate the commitment it takes to travel to Tal- lahassee and we recognize your time is valuable. To this end, our challenge is to make sure the trip is worth your time and, from our experience, we can assure you it absolutely matters to elected officials you take the time to visit. As the calendar moves closer to the start of session, please
watch your emails for details regarding the Tallahassee trip and updates from fall committee meetings. We look forward to hav- ing the group back in town and spending time with those of you who are able to attend. Thank you again for the privilege of representing you in Talla-
hassee. If we can be of assistance please do not hesitate to con- tact any member of the CAS team.
Respectfully, Jim, Dale and Connie
HAVE ALL OF THE CONVENTION
INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
GO TO THE APP STORE AND DOWNLOAD THE IAFE 2017
CONVENTION APP
FAIRCRACKER-FALL 2017 45
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