Beware of Associated Industries of Florida. By Geniusofdespair

If you will only read one of my posts this week: MAKE IT THIS ONE.

Gimleteye, sometimes irks me when he brings up Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) in passing -- I believe we need to highlight it. We are ALWAYS talking about them in articles but it seems we are not doing a good job of letting you know just how powerful they are to affect our lives. View their legislative priorities (hit read more) and you will know Rick Scott's legislative priorities and that of the conservatives in the legislature.

Be assured that Rick Scott is listening to AIF chief Barney Bishop. Read the article about Hospitals written by John Dorschner today in the Miami Herald and within the first few paragraphs he writes: "A powerful business lobbying group, Associated Industries of Florida" is agreeing with Scott on the issue. Bummer. In lockstep with Barney Bishop's group. Ick.

Etch the name of the group and their leader in your memory because you can bet 'your' Governor Rick Scott takes his marching orders from them. Busting unions is certainly something AIF will be more than happy to fund. Also AIF orchestrated the effort to kill Amendment 4. See Barney below talking about Rick Scott when he was running (they were friends then -- no surprise there):

link to video

AIF legislative priorities at a glance (you won't like this so don't hit read more if you don't want to get depressed - this is our future):

2011 Legislative Issues At-A-Glance
(remember all these are worded to TRY to sound good)....

Legislative Issues The following is a listing of additional issues that AIF will be involved in (as of February 1, 2011) for the upcoming 2011 Session. These issues and our positions can change based on amendments. When our position does change, it will be noted in both the Daily Brief and Weekly Update reports that AIF provides to members and legislators throughout the session.

Contracting

* Support legislation to ensure consistent, streamlined and fair contract elements for entities providing health and human services to the state of Florida by incorporating national accreditation standards into the existing health and human services framework; allowing the use of a centralized document vault and allowing agencies to designate a lead agency to ensure that monitoring is coordinated.

Economic Development

* Support efforts to reduce regulatory burdens that inhibit businesses’
ability to establish and expend in Florida.
* Support efforts to further expedite permitting processes within state agencies.
* Support reestablishing funding levels of Enterprise Florida’s economic development “Tool Kit.”
* Support legislation aimed at providing tax credits for venture capitalists that invest in Florida’s emerging businesses.
* Support efforts to broaden the reach of Florida’s Growth Fund to reach more emerging businesses.
* Support measures to help existing or emerging businesses access badly needed capital markets.
* Support efforts to streamline the state’s economic development organizations.

Education

* Support increasing access to rigorous coursework and increased high school graduation standards, particularly in STEM subject areas: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; so that students can compete globally in the 21st century.
* Support efforts to increase education in the arts, multilingualism, multiculturalism, and technology literacy to assure the workforce is prepared for the creative economy.
* Advocate flexibility in plans to fulfill the mandates of the class-size constitutional amendment.
* Support the continuation of the Banner Centers for Workforce Development and Ready-to-Work programs.
* Support reforms that will keep our best teachers in the classrooms.

Elections

* Support efforts to re-establish Florida’s signature revocation process.
* Support reforms to the process for amending the state constitution by citizen initiative.
* Support efforts to change the life span of petition signatures for citizen initiatives from the current 4 years to 2 years.
* Support legislation designed to protect the secret ballot process in Florida.

Energy

* Encourage the exploration, production and storage of petroleum and natural gas in an environmentally safe manner while ensuring a continuous supply and reasonable cost of fuel for all of Florida’s needs.
* Support incentives for the use of hydrogen fuel and the future expansion of alternative fuels and clean coal technologies.
* Support environmental and economic regulatory policies that create a stable investment climate so that electric utilities can build more fuel diverse generation systems to meet Florida’s growing energy needs, and continue to maintain and enhance the transmission and distribution system.
* Oppose government mandates that will unnecessarily drive up the cost of essential energy services for businesses in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
* Support the expansion and building of future nuclear facilities in Florida.

Environmental

* Support “Incentive Based Permitting” for those companies who are good stewards of Florida’s natural resources.
* Support the environmental self-audit privilege.
* Support state funding for alternative water supply programs.

General Business

* Support legislation providing for personal identity-theft protection and for protection of personal and business data held by state and local governments while at the same time balancing the needs of commercial entities to have access to such information to service their customers and promote commerce.
* Oppose legislation that requires businesses to rely on flawed federal verification systems for immigration status of employees.
* Support efforts to create statewide regulation of fertilizer sales.
* Support constitutional amendment protecting Floridians’ rights to a secret ballot.
* Support efforts to require important corporate information to be published in our newspapers and not just on the internet.

Growth Management

* Support efforts to re-enact the Community Renewal Act.
* Provide for the “fast track” of any project deemed to be economic development.
* Support efforts to revise the role of the DCA so that its function is less of an impediment to job creation.

Health Care

* Support proposals that encourage employers to provide health insurance benefits to their employees.
* Continue to support proposals to inject market-based solutions into the Medicaid Program to ensure appropriate high quality and cost-effective care is provided to our state’s elderly, poor and disabled.
* Oppose the expansion of ad valorem taxing authority of state taxing districts for the funding of health care facilities.
* Oppose proposals that would introduce the government into the private contracting process between insurers and providers.
* Support efforts to ensure that Low Income Pool (LIP) Council dollars follow the patient and are distributed in an equitable manner.

Insurance

* Continue efforts to bring about affordability and availability of commercial and residential property insurance utilizing sound business principles.
* Support legislation requiring a 15% rate increase for all Citizens policyholders each year until its rates are actuarially sound.
* Oppose burdensome restrictions on health insurers, such as “any willing provider” and provider contract restraints that drive up the cost of health care.
* Oppose legislation that would place additional mandates on health insurance policies.
* Support the Insurance Commissioner’s efforts to pass legislation to eliminate abuses associated with stranger originated life insurance (STOLI) arrangements.

Legal & Judicial

* Oppose the weakening or repeal of any of the 2005-06 legal reform law.
* Support adequate funding of the judicial branch.
* Preserve the rights of parties to settle cases independently without interference from their attorneys.
* Continue support for existing caps on non-economic damages arising from medical malpractice lawsuits.
* Support legislation that offers basic protection from unnecessary litigation to business owners who offer their services to first responders during natural disasters.

Taxation

* Support legislation to adopt the 2011 version of the IRS code so that Florida businesses do not have to keep two sets of records.
* Support legislative ideas that would help to lower the rising cost of property tax for both homeowners and businesses across the state.
* Support legislation to reduce the communications services tax currently on all communications devices (except residential lines).
* Support efforts to enforce the fair collection of state sales tax.
* Fight the efforts to divert money from trust-fund revenue streams to general revenue.
* Support sales tax holidays, such as exemptions from sales tax on items to be used for hurricanes supplies, school readiness, and energy efficient products.
* Support passage of the Amendment 6 implementing bill.
* Oppose the enactment of combined reporting, or a “Unitary Tax” in Florida as well as increases in excise taxes.

Technology

* Encourage the enhanced government spending on IT in order to provide better services to citizens and businesses and to ensure that Florida’s state government remains at the cutting edge of IT.
* Support funding for redesign of legacy or outdated agency IT systems.
* Support increasing compensation and competency requirements for state CIOs.
* Monitor and influence any bill filed on the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology (AEIT), or data consolidation efforts.

Transportation

* Support the transfer of new revenues from tag and title fee increases to the Transportation Trust Fund.
* Strongly support legislation that allows for aggregate rock materials to be mined without obstruction from irresponsible interest groups or ill intended county/municipal moratorium.
* Support raising the weight limit on commercial trucks using state and local roadways to weight limits that equal those of our surrounding states.
* Support legislation exempting Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) from commercial truck weight restrictions.
* Oppose any efforts to raid the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.

Unemployment Compensation

* Require all unemployment compensation appeals referees to follow consistent and established criteria statewide for determining if an employee was appropriately discharged for cause and deny benefits in those cases.
* Require interpretation of the unemployment compensation benefits award statute to carry a neutral construction rather than be construed in favor of the claimant in all instances.
* Study alternative tax calculation methodologies that may produce more fair and equitable tax rates for Florida employers and identify all impacts prior to adoption.
* Permanently allow a quarterly payment plan that lets employers spread out their unemployment compensation payments over the whole year without penalties or interest.

Workers’ Compensation

* Oppose any efforts to erode the savings experienced by all Florida employers as a result of the AIF-supported 2003 Workers’ Compensation Reform Act which resulted in savings now of over 50%.
* Oppose the creation of a state fund or other state risk bearing entity.
* Continue support for increased funding for state fraud investigations.
* Oppose any efforts to statutorily establish procedures, guidelines or other provisions that are currently available through administrative action for which statutory authority already exists.
* Oppose any raid on the Workers’ Compensation Trust Fund without first giving money back to employers.

Workforce Development

* Support the establishment of career academies in Florida’s schools that will prepare Florida’s students with industry certifications to compete with students from around the world, not just other states.
* Continue support for Florida’s Banner Centers for Workforce Development.
* Support the “Ready to Work” program.

Workforce Housing

* Support full funding of Florida’s housing trust monies solely on housing.
* Repeal the cap on the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund.

OUR FILE ON ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES OF FLORIDA