Capitol Update:

Greeting from Tallahassee. The Legislature has completed their last schedule committee meetings prior to the start of the 2023 Legislative Session, which is slated to begin on Tuesday March 7th. The philosopher Buzz Lightyear said it best “To infinity and beyond!” There may be no more appropriate quote to describe the popularity, power and direction of Governor DeSantis! Certainly, all who read this may not agree with everything the Governor has done or is doing yet, it is hard to argue the fact that the Governor continues to chalk up “wins” and continues to control the narrative. Looking to the 2023 Legislative Session with a full Republican Cabinet and super majorities in the Senate and House, we are likely to see “the free State of Florida” continue to be the epicenter for “anti-wokeness”, and significant policy debates with state and national importance.

Speaking of the Republican cabinet; there have been some changes within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as life-long farmer and former Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) is Florida’s new Commissioner of Agriculture. Commissioner Simpson has truly hit the ground running in his new role, he has already assembled a stellar team of professionals to lead the department and Florida agriculture to a robust and bright future. We look forward to the Commissioner’s vision for both the Florida State Fair as well as opportunities for growth and improvements at all our fairs statewide.

As we look toward to start of session, Wednesday March 8th is the Annual Florida Farm Bureau Taste of Florida Agriculture event. I know some of you will be attending this event and we look forward to seeing you in the Capitol. We expect this year to be full of much “excitement” of two front” 1). As mentioned above, we expect to see very bold policy pushed by the Governor and the legislature and, 2). The state is very healthy financially and we expect to see much in the way of programmatic funding as well as discretionary spending (i.e. tax-exemptions, local funding requests). So, for those coming to Tallahassee, if your fair applied for FDACS Educational and Promotional Grant funding or other legislative appropriation, please take the opportunity to stop by and thank your legislator for their support.

In the policy arena, we do not anticipate any legislation to change provisions of Chapter 616 which, is critically, the area of law which enables us to function. However, we are closely watching HB 543/ SB 150 Relating to Public Safety. These bills which are also known as the Constitutional Carry bills would allow a person who meets the criteria to obtain a conceal-carry permit to legally carry a weapon without the permit. It is important to note, these bills do not allow for open carry of fire arms. Quite simply, the bill does not expand or contract the places you can carry today in Florida with a permit, nor do the bills change any of the private property rights provisions which exist in Florida law today; the proposed bills would expand the universe of people who can legally carry.

One other piece of legislation which is of interest is SB 240 Education. This legislation continues to work on the apprenticeship and career educational programs offered at Florida Schools. More specifically, the bill creates a framework to tie college credits to agriculture certification as well as other career and technical certification programs. It also revises certification which are eligible for CAPE funding. The real takeaway and interest from our perspective is the focus on agricultural certification. Having clear direction and criteria in place should help bolster enrollment and interest in agricultural education programs and by extension increase participation in FFA and 4H by Florida students. As always, there are many other good, bad and downright ugly ideas which seem to float around the Capitol during this time of year. We will continue to watch, update and act on behalf of the Federation when appropriate. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work on your behalf and, again we look for to seeing you in Tallahassee.

Respectfully

CAS Governmental Services, LLC

Jim Connie Dale

The Jacksonville Business and its panel of local business leaders have spent weeks poring over a record number of 40 Under 40 nominations to pick this year's class of honorees.

The result is a group of young men and women who are not just shaping Jacksonville today but are also helping the city reach new heights in the future.

Hailing from a range of industries and background, these honorees were selected based on the impact they have had on their organizations, on the business community and on the First Coast overall.

The 40 Under 40 honorees and their accomplishments will be celebrated at a luncheon April 20 and in a forthcoming special edition of the Business Journal.