The Voice of Commercial Construction –Your Voice in Tallahassee

Members of ABC from across Florida came together in July 2022 at the Annual State Convention to deliberate critical issues of concern to the construction industry. These five subject areas are where legislation will be filed, and attention focused for the 2023 Legislative Session in Tallahassee.

Public Owners

ABC will work to ensure public entities are not limiting who can bid on projects by imposing project regulations that favor the few over the many. Also, to make sure public owners pay in a timely fashion to ensure that companies are not put out of business simply trying to run their business. Additionally, to make sure that the regulations imposed are consistent and predictable so that companies know well in advance of submitting a bid, what the expectations for the projects are.

Building Departments

Permit fee schedules should be clearly posted and easy to determine. They should not be subjective or based on things that have nothing to do with the level of service required during the duration of a project. Revenues and revenue surpluses should be reasonable and where they are not, fees should be reduced, or services should be dramatically improved.

Chapter 558 – Construction Defects

ABC will work in tandem with fellow industry partners to secure critical reforms to cut back on abuse of this process.

Workforce Education and Apprenticeship Training

Despite the great work with the DeSantis Administration to highlight the importance of strong workforce education offerings in Florida, there is always room for improvement. Funding needs to be increased and needs to be offered in separate silos for workforce education programs and apprenticeship training. Grant funding should also be made available to sustain or expand existing programs, and not simply just to start new ones. ABC will work to ensure that college credits are automatic and not left to the discretion of individual schools. ABC will also request a repeat of the “Tool Time Tax Holiday” and will work with guidance counselors to ensure that information on industry job offerings becomes a constant in Florida K-12 Schools.

Tort Reform Measures

Florida is often referred to as one of the most litigious states in the nation. This has been seen with property insurance, where Florida accounts for roughly 8% of total property insurance policies nationwide but 78% of insurance lawsuits nationally. ABC supports the legislature taking a full and comprehensive look at identifying ways to decrease the litigious atmosphere of Florida so that residents and taxpayers are not ultimately left footing the bill for these lawsuits.

Ways You Can Get Involved

Join us in Tallahassee on March 8-9, 2023 for the Legislative Conference. For more information go to abceastflorida.com/events

Save the date for the ABC of Florida State Convention, July 20-23, 2023

Attend the ABC Legislative Hobnob on March 25, 2023, at Harry P. Leu Gardens

Get involved in the ABC Government Affairs Committee, by contacting Taylor Dupree by email: tdupree@abccentralflorida.org

Take Action – during session, we will be sending Action Alerts to you, asking that you help us contact legislators in support or opposition to upcoming votes. The more people who “Take Action” when we ask, the better we do at conveying the importance of the topic to the industry and Florida. The 2023 regular legislative session convenes on March 7 and runs until May 5.

Governor DeSantis shared a clear vision of his upcoming legislative goals when he was sworn in for his second term as Governor on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Here’s a brief look at what we can expect to see this session:

• Record amount of tax relief

• Keep ideologies and trends out of public and higher education

• Increase in family friendly policies to make it easier to raise a family

• Law and order state with continued efforts to support law enforcement

• Protect Florida’s natural resources

• “Decline is a choice. Success is attainable. And freedom is worth fighting for.”

ABC NEXGEN Leadership Program

At the first session of ABC Central Florida’s 2022-2023 NEXGEN Leadership Program students were introduced to the leaders of the association: the board chair, officers, and directors at the monthly board meeting in September. Session two in October was held at Brasfield & Gorrie’s office where students discovered their strengths though the Clifton Strengths program and learned how to leverage them with instructions from Cyndi Gundy, President of CG Consulting and Leadership Consultant. Session three

Cyndi was brought in to teach the NEXGEN group guidelines about being a successful leader, accountability, and effective communication. She will be joining the program at a future session as well to discuss recruiting and interviewing strategies, and effective coaching and feedback strategies.