News

New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Voters Believe Florida Heading in the Right Direction While America on Wrong Track

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (January 13, 2022) – The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows a majority (50:41) of likely Florida voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction, while at the same time nearly three-quarters of voters believe the country is on the wrong track. Only three of Florida’s ten media markets believe Florida is on the wrong track: Tallahassee (29:65), West Palm (47:50) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale (41:46). “As I shared recently at our Legislative Fly-In,…

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Florida Chamber of Commerce Unveils 2022 Jobs & Competitiveness Agenda

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has unveiled its 2022 Jobs and Competitiveness Agenda highlighting where it stands on key business priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session. Each year prior to Florida Legislative Session, the Florida Chamber of Commerce releases its annual Where We Stand business agenda that outlines key issues facing Florida’s business community in the coming year. As we work to keep Florida, Florida and grow our economy to the 10th largest in the world by 2030,…

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Free Enterprise Isn’t Free: Florida’s Business Community Uniting to Keep Florida, Florida this Legislative Session

Florida is at an important crossroads. Post pandemic, the world will never be the same and the time to focus on making sure the right things continue to happen here in Florida is now. Free enterprise isn’t free. Unfortunately, there are many forces wanting us to be more like New York, California and Illinois. We can all agree that with businesses fleeing high-cost, big government states and finding their way to the Sunshine State to…

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2022, The Time is Now to Secure Florida’s Economic Health and Stability

I think we can all agree, the phrase “a year like no other” is getting tired. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean it is an incorrect statement, the world, and certainly Florida has undergone a transformation “like no other” over the past two-years, but it is time to look toward 2022, and instead of a return to normal, a shift to the future of Florida. Florida is at a crossroads, and in 2022, we have to…

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Time to revamp, expand state’s role in supply chain

The global supply chain has drawn unprecedented attention in the past few months, with reports of 80-plus container ships waiting offshore to be unloaded at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. There have been rapid increases in costs for shipping, loading and storing goods; and there have been shortages of everything from semiconductors to building materials to basic household goods. Three out of four businesses responding to a Florida Chamber Foundation survey in…

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Florida Leading the Nation in Business Startups Ahead of California, Texas and Georgia

The Florida Chamber Foundation continues advancing the Florida 2030 Blueprint and its 39 goals, including Florida becoming the #1 state for business startups in the country. As we work to grow Florida to a top 10 global economy, the latest data on new business formations shows that Florida led the nation in 2020, taking the #1 spot. In 2020, Florida had 495,251 business applications— 58,521 more than second place California, 111,133 more than third place Texas, and nearly double…

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Florida lawsuits fuel insurance industry crisis

Florida is at a crossroads. Whether you are a public official, a local business owner or a Florida homeowner trying to protect your most valuable investment – your home – it comes as no surprise that Florida is facing a crisis and it’s time policymakers put homeowners ahead of billboard trial lawyers. Nothing demonstrates why Florida is in this crisis more than looking at how Florida stacks up against the nation in the number of…

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St. Johns County & Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chambers of Commerce Hosting Online Campaign School & Community Leadership Training November 16 – 18

The St. Johns County & Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with Florida Institute for Political Leadership (FIPL), an initiative by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, are hosting a virtual Campaign School & Community Leadership Training November 16 – 18, from 5:30pm – 8:00pm. This no-cost and nonpartisan 3-day program is open to everyone and recommended for elected officials, current or future candidates, campaign workers, and anyone interested in serving in an appointed…

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Special Session Legislation Filed – Your Feedback is Requested

The contours of next week’s Special Session took more shape today with the filing of eight pieces of legislation. The Special Session was called by Governor Ron DeSantis for the week of November 15th as a reaction to federal vaccine mandates, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard that was released last week. House Bill 1B and Senate Bill 2B outline a series of exemptions that must be offered to employees by…

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Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Hosting Online Campaign School & Community Leadership Training November 2 – 4

MARIANNA, FL – The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Florida Institute for Political Leadership (FIPL), an initiative by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is hosting a virtual Campaign School & Community Leadership Training November 2 – 4, from 9:30am – 12:00pm (CST). This no-cost and nonpartisan 3-day program is open to everyone and recommended for elected officials, current or future candidates, campaign workers, and anyone interested in serving in an appointed position.…

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New Florida Chamber Statewide Poll Shows Voters Believe Florida Heading in the Right Direction

The latest Florida Chamber statewide poll shows likely Florida voters believe Florida is headed in the right direction, while recent public polls show less than a third of voters believe the country is headed in the right direction. “Florida is moving in the right direction and we need to keep the momentum going,” said Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson. “As we just recently addressed Florida’s future at our Florida Chamber Foundation Annual Meeting…

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Recap of Interim Committee Week 3 in Tallahassee

During week 3 of the 6 interim committee weeks, the Florida House and Senate heard a few bills but again focused mostly on workshops and presentations during the committee hearings. This week, Senator and previous Florida Chamber Most Valuable Legislator Kathleen Passidomo was designated as Senate President beginning after the election in 2022. She has been a great friend of the Florida Chamber, Florida job creators and free enterprise, and we look forward to working…

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Autonomous Florida Partner Jacksonville Transportation Authority Wins ITS World Congress 2021 Local Government Award for the Americas

Autonomous Florida, a program of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is proud to announce that one of its Steering Committee partners, Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) received the Local Government Award for the Americas at the 2021 ITS World Congress in Hamburg, Germany. The Award recognizes local governments from across the world for mobility innovation and collaboration. “Now is the time to prepare Florida for the next generation of transportation, and Florida’s business community is at…

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Florida Institute for Political Leadership Hosting Online Campaign School & Community Leadership Training for Southeast Florida October 5 – 7

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – The Florida Institute for Political Leadership (FIPL), an initiative by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is hosting a virtual Campaign School & Community Leadership Training for Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade & Monroe Counties October 5 – 7, from 5:30pm – 8:00pm. This no-cost and nonpartisan 3-day program is open to everyone and recommended for elected officials, current or future candidates, campaign workers, and anyone interested…

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Small Business Spotlight – Cindy Zimmerman of SS Designs

Have a Conversation with Cindy Zimmerman, President & CEO of SS Designs What does your business do? SS Designs is a woman-owned, second-generation custom apparel company specializing in designing and decorating quality Softline products. Our customers consist of international corporations, theme parks, destination events, retail and restaurant chains, financial institutions, automotive companies and more. With our large-scale production infrastructure, established global distribution channels and trendsetting in-house creative department, we partner with customers across the world…

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