JMEA Capitol Report June 06, 2016

Transcription

1 JMEA Capitol Report June 06, 2016 Provided by: Capitol Alliance Group 106 E. College Ave, Suite 640 Tallahassee, FL

2 I. CAPITOL NEWS The Capitol Alliance Group team will continue to travel throughout the State of Florida to meet with incumbent legislators and candidates on their respective campaign trails and discuss issues important to the electric contractors and industry at large. II. NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE Workers Comp Rates Could Jump After Court Ruling After a Florida Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down a limit on attorney's fees, workers-compensation insurance rates could go up 17.1 percent, according to a proposal submitted to state regulators. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which submits rate proposals for the workers-compensation insurance industry, said the hike should take effect Aug. 1. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will decide whether to approve the proposal, a process that could lead to a different rate change. Major business groups quickly pounced on the rate proposal, which largely stems from an April 28 Supreme Court ruling that said a state law limiting fees for attorneys who represent injured workers was unconstitutional. The issue likely will spur a legislative battle, as business groups seek to curb increased rates. The Office of Insurance Regulation said a public hearing will be held in July on the rate proposal. Attorney's fees have long been a highly controversial issue in the workers-compensation system, which handles disputes outside of the more-typical civil courts. Business groups blame legal fees for driving up insurance costs, while workers' attorneys say adequate fees are needed to help injured people get representation. The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, said that a 2009 law limiting attorney's fees was a violation of due-process rights under the Florida Constitution and the U.S. Constitution because it prevented challenges to the "reasonableness" of attorney's fees awarded in workers-compensation cases. The ruling stemmed from a case in which an attorney was awarded the equivalent of $1.53 an hour in successfully pursuing a claim for benefits for a worker injured in Miami. The National Council on Compensation Insurance, which is known as NCCI, said the Supreme Court ruling will increase costs in the workers-compensation system by 15 percent. An additional amount of the proposal deals with a law passed this year that relates to health-care provider reimbursements. In all, NCCI said the combined impact would total $623 million. 2

3 Florida employers have seen a series of decreases in workers-compensation rates since lawmakers in 2003 passed a controversial overhaul of the system. The latest decrease, which took effect Jan. 1, was an overall 4.7 percent. Scott Says Higher Ed Efforts About Building A Workforce Gov. Rick Scott wrapped up a two-day higher education conference in late May with a list of goals that included making colleges and universities more affordable and more responsive to the needs of businesses. The second day of the "Degrees to Jobs Summit" included sessions about trying to make Florida first in jobs for university and college graduates, along with discussions about keeping students in the state after they graduate. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam noted that many of his classmates at the University of Florida left the state after graduation. Putnam also said Florida should have at least one other state institution besides his alma mater as a member of the prestigious, 62-member Association of American Universities. Scott held the conference to bring together business and education leaders. Renewable Energy Backers Gear Up For Campaign Groups backing a proposed constitutional amendment focused on renewable energy will move forward Wednesday with a social-media campaign to try to reach voters. Florida for Solar and Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs will use Twitter, Facebook and other online venues where people can share information about the proposed amendment on the Aug. 30 primary ballot. The proposal would give commercial property owners a tax break on renewable-energy devices similar to one given to residential property owners. There is no announced opposition to the proposal, but one aim of the groups will be making people aware that the August amendment isn't linked to a more controversial initiative on the November ballot by a group called Consumers for Smart Solar. The Consumers for Smart Solar measure, which is heavily funded by the state's utility industry, would in part add to the state Constitution existing rules that allow Floridians with solar equipment on their property to sell energy to power companies. The Primary ballot proposal has drawn support from the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, The Nature Conservancy and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, meanwhile, is a leading opponent of the utility-backed Consumers for Smart Solar amendment on the November ballot. 3

4 Concerns Mount Over Hurricane Amnesia As the six-month Atlantic hurricane season has begun, weather forecasters say Florida is long overdue to get hit by a storm. And a growing concern is that Floridians aren't preparing --- buying supplies and making plans for evacuation or hunkering down --- like they should. There have been a number of scares in recent years, but after several of those storms simply withered in the Atlantic, questions have focused on why forecast tracks aren't more accurate. At the Governor's Hurricane Conference in Orlando last month, officials warned of complacency and "hurricane amnesia." Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon called it a "lack of awareness," particularly among new residents. But Koon added that over the past decade the state has made strides to improve readiness. He pointed to hardened buildings through improved construction codes; utility companies putting more lines underground and strengthening above-ground lines so power outages should be shorter; electronic toll-collection technology that should reduce bottlenecks at toll booths, and more people being connected via social media and phones to receive emergency alerts. Another question that will only be answered after a hurricane is the post-storm response. The insurance industry has been able to flourish since Hurricane Wilma, with private companies building reserves as policies have shifted into the private market from the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance. However, Chicago-based Fitch Ratings released a report that expressed concern about Florida's private insurance market. The report noted that many small insurers have brief histories and that their ability to manage a large catastrophic hurricane remains "uncertain." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave a "near-normal" forecast for the 2016 Atlantic season, which means a 70 percent chance of 10 to 16 named storms, of which 4 to 8 could grow into hurricanes. FPL Okeechobee Project Nears Key Approval 4

5 Florida Power & Light's plan to build a natural-gas plant in Okeechobee County is close to getting a key approval, after state and local government agencies signed off in May, according to documents filed in the state Division of Administrative Hearings. FPL needs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to approve what is known as a "site certification" for the project, which involves building a 1,600-megawatt power plant on 220 acres. Administrative Law Judge Bram D.E. Canter was scheduled to hold a hearing June 20 to June 24 on the site-certification issue. But Canter canceled the hearing and sent the issue to the Department of Environmental Protection for approval of a final order granting the site certification. Canter canceled the hearing after receiving an agreement signed by FPL, Okeechobee County, neighboring Indian River County, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the St. Johns River Water Management District, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Department of Transportation. The government agencies looked at various parts of the project before indicating support for the site certification. The agreement said FPL plans to start building the plant in 2017 and finish in The utility has already received another critical approval, known as a "determination of need," from the Florida Public Service Commission. Florida s Unemployment At 8-Year Low Florida's unemployment rate dipped to 4.8 percent in April, down from 4.9 percent in March and the lowest mark for the state in more than eight years. The preliminary April jobless rate represented an estimated 472,000 Floridians being out of work --- 6,000 fewer than revised March numbers --- from a workforce of 9.8 million, the state Department of Economic Development announced. Gov. Rick Scott issued a prepared statement that pointed to an estimated 28,900 privatesector jobs created in the month. "Florida job creators are adding new opportunities each day, and it is clear that our work to cut taxes and support economic growth is making a difference for families in our state," Scott said. Construction grew by 4,400 jobs from March to April, while the manufacturing industry increased by 2,600 in the same time. The report has Florida for the fourth consecutive month below or even with the national unemployment rate. The national rate has stood at 5 percent the past two months after two months at 4.9 percent. In a series of news releases, Scott also pointed to the Orlando area as continuing to lead the state in job creation over the past year, adding 49,600 private-sector jobs in that time. Also over the past year, the state estimates that 44,000 new jobs have been added in Tampa, 31,000 in Fort Lauderdale, and 22,000 in both Jacksonville and Miami. Pensacola, over the past year, has added 1,300 new jobs. Tourism Numbers Up In First Quarter 5

6 Florida posted a record number of tourists during the first quarter of 2016, putting the state on pace to approach Gov. Rick Scott's new goal of 115 million visitors in a single year. The estimated 29.8 million visitors for the first three months of the year --- the largest ever for a single quarter and 4.8 percent over the same period in was announced in mid-may by Scott and Visit Florida, the state's tourism arm. In the past, Scott had made surpassing 100 million visitors in a single year the goal for Visit Florida. Visit Florida estimated that 25.6 million of the first-quarter visitors were from other states, up 6.6 percent from a year ago. The state also estimates that the tourism industry accounts for 1.23 million jobs, up 3.8 percent from a year ago. The public-private Visit Florida is slated to receive $76 million from the state during the upcoming fiscal year. Contact Information: Dr. Jeffrey Sharkey Capitol Alliance Group 106 E. College Ave. Suite 640 Tallahassee, FL (850) jeff@capitolalliancegroup.com Taylor Patrick Biehl Capitol Alliance Group 106 E. College Ave. Suite 640 Tallahassee, FL (850) taylor@capitolalliancegroup.com 6