House Bill 7005, Unemployment Compensation, Passes House Finance & Tax Committee

Tallahassee, Fla. – House Bill 7005, Unemployment Compensation, today passed the House Finance & Tax Committee and is set to be heard next in the House Economic Affairs Committee.

“Florida’s current Unemployment Compensation system is broken,” said Representative Steve Precourt (R-Orlando), chair of the House Finance & Tax Committee. “The system was never designed for the severity of the current economic downturn and this has caused an unsustainable rise in payments to unemployed workers through large, automatic increases in the employer-paid taxes that fund the benefits.”

“Florida's economy simply cannot afford the taxes that fund the current Unemployment Compensation system,” said Representative Precourt. “And during these uncertain economic times, Florida cannot afford to allow the Unemployment Compensation system to completely fail, and thus hinder economic growth and job creation. House Bill 7005 is an equitable solution to this critical challenge our state is facing, ensures that employers and unemployed workers are both treated fairly, and basic needed benefits are maintained.”

“This bill provides needed tax relief to most Florida businesses by adjusting the benefit ratio calculation downward by 10%,” said Representative Doug Holder (R-Sarasota), chair of the Economic Development & Tourism Subcommittee. “This tax adjustment will ensure that we continue to foster a healthy economic environment for Florida businesses and continue to compensate unemployed workers by maintaining the same maximum weekly benefit amount that is currently available.”

“House Bill 7005 serves to update Florida’s Unemployment Compensation system so it can handle the realities of our current economic situation and adjust accordingly in the future,” said Representative Dorothy Hukill (R-Port Orange), chair of the House Economic Affairs Committee. “It also alters the system to aid with workforce development and placement for unemployed workers in an effort to get Floridians back to work faster, a component that our current system lacks.”

“I applaud the Members of the House Finance & Tax Committee for passing this bill out of committee today, and I look forward to hearing it in the Economic Affairs Committee soon,” concluded Representative Hukill.

For more information on HB 7005, please visit http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/.

Committee Week Update - February, 2011

Committee Weeks and The Governor's Proposed Budget
Committee meetings are well underway in Tallahassee and Legislators are busy determining key policy objectives for the 2011 Legislative Session, hearing public testimony, and workshopping state issues.

As some of you may have heard, Governor Scott has recently released his proposed budget to the Florida Legislature. It is my belief that Governor Scott's budget proposal reflects our common goal of overcoming the $4.6 billion budget shortfall by cutting spending and not raising or imposing new taxes on Floridians. However, we are just in the initial phases of reviewing the Governor's budget and it is too soon to say what budget proposals may or may not be implemented until the appropriations process, led by Chair Grimsley, is underway.

Please rest assured that the House Appropriations Committee will closely examine the governor's budget and will work to address the many difficult decisions required during the Appropriations process. The House is dedicated to working to find solutions that are in line with our priorities to keep taxes low and encourage economic activity in the private sector. Click here to see Governor Scott's proposal and related information.

Unemployment Compensation
As the Chair of the Finance and Tax Committee, I anticipate dealing with issues such as Unemployment Compensation. A proposed committee bill on this issue was heard by the Economic Development & Tourism Subcommittee, Chaired by Representative Holder, on February 10, 2011. It passed the Subcommittee and is now HB 7005.

This legislation brings consistency and fairness to the Unemployment Compensation System by providing tax relief to businesses, adjusting benefits to reality, and clarifying workplace expectations for employers and employees.

Specifically this legislation:

• Requires Floridians filing for unemployment compensation to complete an initial skills review.


• Reduces the number of weeks of unemployment compensation from 26 to 20. This change will not affect the available Federal Tiers (which begin when state unemployment compensation benefits have been exhausted).


• Maintains the max. weekly benefit amount of $275.


• Ties the number of available benefit weeks to the unemployment rate. For example if the unemployment rate is 9 percent or higher, the maximum number of weeks for unemployment compensation is 20.


• Modifies current statute regarding claimant and employer responsibility so that neither the claimant nor the employer are favored when determining eligibility for benefits.


• Provides tax relief to most employers beginning in 2011 by adjusting the benefit ratio calculation by 10 percent.

Florida Redistricting
Next year Florida will begin the process of redistricting. In order to prepare for this process, the House has launched http://www.floridaredistricting.org/. This site will serve as the House's hub of online information and communications rearding House redistricting. By July 2011, the House will launch MyDistrictBuilder, where Legislators and the public will be able to submit their own redistricting plans. A beta version of MyDistrictBuilder can be found by clicking here.

I am honored to continue serving you in Tallahassee. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns.