Faircracker SPRING 2021 State


Capitol Update:


Greeting from the Capitol City. First, I hope each of you and your families are well and


healthy. It would be an understatement to refer to the last 12 months as a challenge so, we will simply attempt to be optimistic that 2021 will fare or “fair” better than last year. It should come as no surprise State Legislators are wres-


tling with the notion of “How do we do our normal business in a Pandemic?” To this end, Tallahassee and specifically the Capitol is completely different than previous years. For example, in the Florida Senate they are not allowing in per- son meetings. Senators and staff are given weekly COVID testing to be allowed in the building and the Senate is con- ducting its pre-session business, yet public testimony given during committee meetings is done remotely from the Leon County Civic Center. The House of Representatives has its own variation of COVID-19 protocols but, you can enter for specific meetings with Representatives; to provide public testimony you must request to attend via the Sergeant at Arms office. Inside the Capitol is not the only difference for 2021.


Many, if not all, groups who make their annual trips to Tal- lahassee have cancelled or postponed attendance. This includes the annual Farm Bureau Ag on the Hill Day. Simp- ly put, the theme for 2021 Session may very well be “Advocacy: Re-invented!” For members of the federation, this means the relationships you have developed with your legislators and their staff will be critically important as is- sues arise during session. In other words, if an issue aris- es, do not be bashful, reach out via email or phone call to let your elected officials know the impacts to your event. For those members seeking to secure appropriations, more than ever you are going to be relying on your elected official and their staff to help work through the budget process. Speaking of the budget process, the state is


staring down roughly $3.2 Billion budget shortfall. No doubt this is better than the roughly $7 Billion projected last April or the roughly $5 Billion in September but, $3 Billion is still a significant chunk when we are looking at the overall budget. The challenge, as you may recall, is Florida has specific fixed costs with Health Care and Educa-


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tion which accounts for roughly 77% of the state’s budget. Not to mention, the shortfall has been largely driven by fewer tourists which means less retail sales tax, less gas tax and locally less bed taxes at hotels, of which many were already operating on limited capacity. Frankly, the only real bright spot in the budget has been collections of documentary stamp revenues, those are the fees paid on real estate transactions for example. The point of the ex- planation is the state is required to have a balanced budget and there is a very good chance there will be little to any discretionary spending. Given the reality of our current circumstances, legislative-


ly our biggest focus on behalf of the Federation will be to protect the things we have in statute already. Most specifi- cally, watching sales tax exemptions and other exemptions which are critical to the success and financial solvency of our events. Thankfully, at this point there has not been tan- gible discussion regarding fee increases, new fees or re- viewing existing sales and use tax laws but, we are certain- ly on alert should the winds change. As a last point, one issue which should be of interest to


our members is protection from COVID liability lawsuits. This has been a priority issue for Gov. DeSantis as well as Senate and House leaders. To this end, we expect to see a bill pass both chambers this session which will provide pro- tection from lawsuits for those entities who are following applicable COVID-19 safety protocols. Thank you for the opportunity to represent you in Talla-


hassee and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or wish to have any additional information.


Respectfully, Jim Connie Dale CAS Governmental Services


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