With Florida projected to add at least five million new residents by 2030, availability of transportation, energy, communications, water and growth leadership tools are vital to Florida’s job growth and could undermine the state’s economic potential if proper planning does not occur.
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad has unveiled his “Florida Transportation Vision for the 21st Century,” which:
The Florida Chamber will work with the Florida Transportation Builders Association, Floridians for Better Transportation and other partners to identify additional resources to fund critical infrastructure needs and will oppose the redirection of money from the State Transportation Trust Fund for non-transportation related purposes.
The Florida Chamber also supports prioritized investment in the strategic intermodal system and the five-year work plan, as well as improving coordination of transportation and economic development planning at the state and regional levels. The Florida Chamber will support an increase in capacity and efficiency of the state’s major ports while working toward cost-effective investments in freight rail infrastructure.
As Florida prepares to become the third largest state in the country, comprehensive growth management policies will help ensure adequate infrastructure is available for positive economic growth. Burdensome regulations, extremist-style voter initiatives and duplicative, bureaucratic processes have often hampered preparing for growth.
This year, lawmakers infused economic certainty into Florida’s transportation and development industry and continued to help local governments implement local growth plans that provided improved direction on how Florida will grow.
Transportation Investments & Job Creation
Construction ready projects will move from shelf to shovel, putting Floridians back to work and dedicating much-needed resources for planned roads under legislation passed this session.
Dedicating resources are returned back to the Florida Chamber-supported State Transportation Trust Fund and will generate jobs and economic growth. For every $1 billion spent on transportation products, 28,000 jobs are created – one-third of those jobs are construction-related.
Under HB 599 by Rep. Ray Pilon (R-Sarasota), pro-business measures will equate to cost savings as Florida moves forward in the race to capture anticipated growth due to the expansion of the Panama Canal. No longer will environmental extremist be allowed to thwart port-related expansion projects by filing frivolous and capricious administrative challenges. A process for summary proceedings will address challenges to permits, variances and submerged lands authorizations.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce commends Governor Rick Scott for approving SunRail. Its construction will create 10,000 desperately needed jobs, almost immediately. Over the next 30 years, SunRail will create more than 250,000 jobs and generate an economic impact of more than $8 billion.
SunRail would provide an alternative for commuters to crowded roadways in the Orlando area. Two of the state’s top business groups hailed a decision by Gov. Rick Scott to put SunRail back on track.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce commends Governor Rick Scott and Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad for approving SunRail. Its construction will create 10,000 desperately needed jobs, almost immediately. Over the next 30 years, SunRail will create more than 250,000 jobs and generate an economic impact of more than $8 billion.
