Capital Soup

Florida News Straight From the Source

You are here: Home / Archives for Florida

Florida

2017 United Way ALICE Report shows that working families continue to struggle in Florida

Posted on

United Way FL

Florida’s United Ways announce consensus legislative agenda to
advocate for working families during the 2017 Florida Legislature

During the United Way Capital Days, United Way of Florida released the findings of the updated United Way ALICE Report. It states that 29.5 percent of Florida’s working households are struggling to make ends meet, and another 14.5 percent earn less than the Federal Poverty Level. Combined, 44 percent or 3.3 million households out of the total 7.5 million households continue to struggle. Drawing from research in the ALICE Report and from work being conducted by local United Ways, Florida’s 32 United Ways developed a consensus legislative agenda to advocate during the 2017 Florida Legislature to help working families.

Two years ago, United Ways introduced ALICE®, which stands for – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – to place a spotlight on a large population of residents who are working, earning more than the Federal Poverty Level, but still have difficulty affording the basic necessities of housing, food, child care, health care and transportation. Back then, the Report stated that 2.6 million households in Florida were ALICE.

The updated Report uses data from a variety of sources, including the American Community Survey and Bureau of Labor Statistics to quantify the number of households in Florida’s workforce that are not consistently and independently affording the basics in each county. The 2017 United Way ALICE Report reveals:

  • The cost of basic household expenses increased steadily in every county in Florida between 2007 and 2015.
  • The rise in the Household Survival Budget in Florida was driven primarily by a 20 percent increase in housing costs since 2007.
  • Wages have improved, however, when adjusted for inflation the percent of low-wage jobs is the same as in 2007.
  • ALICE represents every demographic: men and women, young and old, all races and in every county in Florida.
  • Households with children are more likely to struggle, particularly those with a single parent, with 79 percent of female-headed households and 65 percent of male-headed households not being able to consistently afford the basics in Florida.
  • The Florida population is shifting significantly and quickly. The number of households headed by people under 25 fell by 29 percent since 2007, while households over 65 increased by 24 percent. Surprisingly, the more vulnerable of both populations are often vying for the same housing and jobs; nearly half of those over 65 are now in the workforce.
  • Technology plays a critical role in the changing job landscape and ALICE is uniquely vulnerable. In 2015 Florida ranked as the 4th highest state for technology jobs, yet research indicates a significant percent of Florida’s jobs will be replaced or significantly impacted by technology in the next two decades.
  • The ‘Gig Economy’ is continuing to move more jobs from full-time jobs with benefits to part-time, on-demand or contingent employment. This creates opportunities for ALICE to fill short-term gaps in standard employment, but also transfers many costs and risks from employers onto individuals.

Florida United Ways have joined United Ways in fourteen other states, covering 40 percent of the US Population, to provide statewide ALICE Reports. The methodology for the updated report was improved by using county-level average household sizes for households above and below age 65, instead of statewide averages and incorporating the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act.

The updated ALICE Report recommends both short-term and long-term strategies to help ALICE families and strengthen communities. Florida United Ways work with a myriad of partners and invest more than $100 million every year to empower ALICE families through education, financial stability and health programs. Funds are raised and invested locally to help those in crisis and prevent families, seniors, veterans and other important but vulnerable members of the community from falling into poverty. In 2016, IRS-certified volunteers in Florida, working at 733 tax preparation sites, coordinated by United Way and dozens of its partners, filed 225,000 tax returns that helped ALICE families, the elderly and disabled claim over $232 million in tax refunds, including important tax credits. Despite these tremendous efforts, each year, tens of thousands of Florida ALICE households do not have the safe free help to maximize their tax refunds, and fail to claim more than $1.1 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit and $193 million in higher-education tax credits.

For the first time, an online simulator is also available to experience the financial challenges that ALICE households in Florida face at WalkWithALICE.com, powered by United Way Suncoast.

About United Way of Florida
The United Way of Florida is a statewide association representing Florida’s 32 United Ways on legislative and administrative issues, training, and disaster preparation, response and recovery issues, among others. The mission of the United Way of Florida is to enhance Florida United Ways’ efforts to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another.

President Trump to hold rally in Florida

Posted on

On Saturday, February 18th, President Donald J Trump will hold a rally in Melbourne, FL.

Saturday, February 18th, 2017, at 5:00 PM (EST): Melbourne, FL
President Trump will hold an event at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport
Orlando-Melbourne International Airport
AeroMod International Hanger
100 Aerospace Drive Unit 6
Melbourne, FL 32901

Request Media Credentials

General Admission

ALL REQUESTS FOR MEDIA CREDENTIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FEB. 17, 2017 12:00 PM (EST)

Commissioner Adam Putnam to Tour East Polk County Fire, Discuss Heightened Wildfire Danger Across Florida

Posted on

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam will be in Polk County Friday morning to tour the Highway 630 fire, which has burned approximately 2,000 acres in the Indian Lake Estates area, and discuss heightened wildfire danger across the state. Commissioner Putnam and the Florida Forest Service will be available to media to discuss ongoing efforts at the Highway 630 Fire as well as wildfire conditions.
Event: Media availability with Commissioner Adam H. Putnam
Date: Friday, Feb. 17, 2017
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Indian Lake Estates Golf & Country Club
95 Red Grange Boulevard
Indian Lake Estates, Florida
Forecasts predict hotter and drier conditions than normal throughout the state in the coming months, and wildfires are anticipated to increase throughout the state due to these conditions.
There are more than 50 active wildfires currently burning throughout Florida. Since January, the Florida Forest Service and its partners have responded to more than 466 wildfires that burned more than 9,400.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FloridaForestService.com.

Gov. Scott: Florida sets another tourism record

Posted on

112.8 million tourists visited Florida in 2016

Governor Rick Scott announced today that Florida set another record in tourism by welcoming the highest amount of visitors in the state’s history with 112.8 million visitors in 2016. This is the sixth consecutive record year for visitation to Florida, exceeding the previous high of 106.6 million in 2015 by 5.9 percent. Tourism jobs also hit a record high in 2016 of 1.4 million jobs, exceeding the previous record in 2015.
Governor Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that Florida has once again welcomed a record number of tourists with 112.8 million visitors to the state in 2016. Visitors spent $109 billion and supported a record 1.4 million Florida jobs in 2016 – a testament to the vital importance of tourism to our growing economy.
“I have seen firsthand how tourism impacts our state. Since I have been in office, we have made important investments in VISIT FLORIDA and broken record after record of visitors, added more than a million new residents and seen Florida’s private sector create more than 1.25 million new jobs. Unfortunately, even with these incredible successes, politicians in the Florida House are trying to eliminate VISIT FLORIDA. I don’t understand how anyone can look at Florida’s booming tourism industry, and the more than 1.4 million jobs it supports, and vote to kill it. The legislation the Florida House is pushing puts more than 1.4 million jobs at risk and we cannot let that happen. We have to fight to continue investing in our tourism industry so we can keep breaking records and adding even more jobs.
“Over the past week, I have traveled the state meeting with small business owners, economic development leaders, tourism leaders, community members and hardworking Floridians who all had a clear message – Florida’s economy needs tourism. Last year, Florida was challenged like never before as we faced the Zika virus, two hurricanes and the terror attack at Pulse Nightclub. In the face of adversity, we continued in our mission to promote our great state and thanks to the hard work of VISIT FLORIDA, we continue to see record visitors to Florida.”
In 2015, every 85 tourists supported one job. Today, VISIT FLORIDA data shows that every 76 tourists support one job – proof that tourism continues to be a major and growing influence on job creation in Florida and that we must continue to invest in this vital part of our growing economy.
VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 98.0 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in 2016, reflecting a 7.3 percent increase over 2015. Estimates also show that 11.1 million overseas visitors and 3.7 million Canadians came to the Sunshine State last year. Total enplanements at 18 Florida airports during 2016 increased 4.3 percent over the previous year, with a record 83.7 million enplaned passengers. For 2016, the average daily room rate (ADR) rose 2.0 percent and the number of rooms sold grew by 1.1 percent compared to 2015.
Ken Lawson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “Six years of record-setting visitation would not be possible without a strong global marketing strategy focused on maximizing the economic impact of Florida tourism. To have achieved another tourism record in 2016 given all the challenges this state faced last year is an incredible testament to the cooperative relationship VISIT FLORIDA has with our more than 12,000 industry business partners around the state. Today’s announcement proves that sustained collective tourism marketing works and we have Governor Scott and our supporters in the Florida Legislature to thank for their unparalleled leadership over the past six years that has helped position our industry for this unprecedented success.”
For fourth quarter 2016, estimates show a record 27.6 million people visited the Sunshine State. This represents the largest fourth quarter visitation number Florida has ever seen and reflects an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period in 2015. VISIT FLORIDA also reports that an estimated 24.0 million domestic visitors, 3.0 million overseas visitors and 587,000 Canadians traveled to Florida in the fourth quarter of 2016.
William D.Talbert III, CDME, Chair of the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors, said, “Given the hyper-competitive global tourism marketplace, the series of challenging events the state faced and the uncertain economies of some of Florida’s key international markets, I am extremely encouraged to see that the programs VISIT FLORIDA and our statewide marketing partners conducted have resulted in another record year for visitation which ultimately supports and generates jobs throughout the state. This success in the face of tough times means it’s more important than ever to invest in smart tourism marketing.”
To view additional Florida visitor data, go the Research page on VISIT FLORIDA’s media website.
*Preliminary estimates are issued 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Final estimates are released when final data are received for all estimates in the report.

Detour planned for C.R. 470 at I-75 in Sumterville

Posted on

FDOT Header
County Road (C.R.) 470 underneath the Interstate 75 (I-75) overpass bridge will be closed for two nights. From 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and Thursday, Feb. 16, a detour will be in effect. The route will be as follows:

  • Northbound I-75 traffic headed to westbound C.R. 470 will be directed to exit at State Road (S.R.) 44 (Exit 329) and access C.R. 470 via I-75 south. Northbound I-75 traffic traveling to eastbound C.R. 470 will not be impacted.
  • Southbound I-75 traffic headed to eastbound C.R. 470 will be directed to exit at S.R. 48 (Exit 314) and access C.R. 470 via I-75 north. Southbound I-75 traffic traveling to westbound C.R. 470 will not be impacted.
  • Eastbound C.R. 470 traffic headed to I-75 north will be directed to travel I-75 south to S.R. 48 (Exit 314), and re-enter the interstate using the northbound entrance ramp. Eastbound C.R. 470 traffic continuing on C.R. 470 will follow the same detour and exit northbound I-75 at C.R. 470. Eastbound C.R. 470 traffic traveling to southbound I-75 will not be impacted.
  • Westbound C.R. 470 traffic headed to I-75 south will be directed to travel I-75 north to S.R. 44 (Exit 329), and re-enter the interstate using the southbound entrance ramp. Westbound C.R. 470 traffic continuing on C.R. 470 will follow the same detour and exit southbound I-75 at C.R. 470. Westbound C.R. 470 traffic traveling to northbound I-75 will not be impacted.
  • Northbound C.R. 475 traffic headed to westbound C.R. 470 will be directed to travel north on I-75 to S.R. 44 (Exit 329), re-enter the interstate using the southbound entrance ramp, and exit at C.R. 470, bypassing the road closure. Southbound C.R. 475 traffic and northbound C.R. 475 traffic traveling to eastbound C.R. 470 will not be impacted.

In addition to closing a portion of C.R. 470, the southbound off ramp at Exit 321 will be closed for a duration of 10 to 15 minutes on both Wednesday and Thursday nights. The closure is required for the contractor, D.A.B. Constructors Inc., to set beams for the new C.R. 470 bridge. The work is part of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) I-75 widening project from C.R. 470 to just south of Florida’s Turnpike.
Please note that this schedule may change due to weather or other unexpected conditions. Project updates will be posted to FDOT’s Central Florida website, www.cflroads.com.
For media-related questions, please contact the Public Information Office at 386-943-5473 or [email protected].
To ensure your safety and the safety of others, please exercise extra caution when driving through construction work zones.

State Senator Daphne Campbell files legislation to ban red-light cameras in the state of Florida

Posted on

State Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) announced today that she has filed legislation, SB 630, to finally end the installation and use of red light cameras in Florida.
“In too many communities, including my own, local governments have deployed back-door tax policies such as red-light cameras as money-making ventures,” said Sen. Campbell. “This isn’t about safety, this is about improving the bottom line, and I intend to continue the fight to stop the profiteering at the expense of my constituents.”
Implemented in 2010, red-light cameras were intended to bring more safety to the roads of Florida. However, throughout the five years of their operation, the data shows that this is not the case. According to a survey from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, red light cameras have resulted in a 15 percent increase in total crashes, 29 percent increase in incapacitating injuries, 17 percent increase in crashes involving non-motorists and a 10 percent increase in rear-end crashes. Arkansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are thirteen states that have already banned red light cameras.
SB 630 would abolish red light cameras commencing July 1, 2020, as well as the need for specialized traffic enforcement officers. It would also eliminate the hefty fines previously levied on unsuspecting motorists.
“Florida should join the list of states that bans these cameras,” said Senator Campbell. “We should pass good policy in Tallahassee that helps the residents and the tourists who visit us, not policy that does more harm than good.”

What They Are Saying: Florida Economic Development and Tourism Leaders Fight to Save Florida Jobs

Posted on

Florida economic development and tourism leaders, small business owners, and concerned Floridians from across the state traveled to Tallahassee today to speak or stand in opposition to Legislation in the Florida House that would kill Florida jobs by eliminating Enterprise Florida and VISIT FLORIDA.
Donna McBride, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa: “This bill could cost the state of Florida tax revenue and jobs. Just a five percent drop in visitors means a loss of $5.5 billion in revenue for the state, $563 million in taxes and 70,00 jobs. We understand the need to cut costs and to take a close look at reduce invectives, but first and foremost we need to be looking at jobs.”
Lisa Barnes, Eastern Ship Building: “We just secured a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to build their next generation of off-shore patrol cutters. This contract has a potential value of $10.5 billion and at full ramp up we will have six vessels under construction with 800-1,000 people who are dedicated to those vessels. We won this through our superior design and leadership but the primary driver was affordability. That’s all we heard- every time we went to a meeting. After the first five vessels, we are going to have to recomplete this project. One of our nearest competitors is Chouest Shipbuilding in Mississippi. Chouest Shipbuilding got $35 million in infrastructure from the State of Mississippi and $1 million in workforce training. We’re talking about a level playing field- it’s hard for us to be a level playing field when other states are helping their businesses.”
Eric Fletcher, Allegiant Air: “In 2005 Allegiant started flying to the State of Florida. We flew 50,000 passengers that year, last year we flew 3.1 million passengers, this year we’re forecasting to fly 3.7 million. We got to those numbers, that quick growth, with the help of VISIT FLORIDA. They helped us negotiate discounted media buys, they helped us by giving demographic area. We now have 37 of our 85 planes based in Florida- that means pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, etc. We have more planes coming on in the next two years and we’re looking for places to place them. VISIT FLORIDA and the State has helped us base them here so we now have approximately 2,000 jobs bringing in 3 million tourists a year, and we’d love to continue that.”
Keith Overton, TradeWinds Island Grand Resort: “We own and operate the largest resort on the west coast of Florida. We have about 1,100 employees, 35 acres on the Gulf of Mexico, it’s a small business, but a big business. We choose to not have representation through a Marriott or a Hilton because Florida has such a strong brand and presence; we can get away with not having that reach. I fear that if you eliminate VISIT FLORIDA, our voice, the independent hotelier voice, will be lost. We parley our money into their $75 million, the CVB’s parley their money into it, it’s a big spend, it’s tremendously important.”
Ed Henderson, Shenandoah Dairy, Live Oak: “I’m a small business owner [in Live Oak]. We currently milk about 134 hundred cows, employing over 90 people. One of the challenges that we run into is it’s just not a level playing field out there. I’m a capitalist guy –I believe in the capitalist system– but we’re not dealing with a level set of playing rules out there. There are other states out there that are trying to attract daires, trying to attack businesses. And we are trying to complete with that and trying to maintain a viable agricultural business in the State of Florida. I think of the challenges that we run into in our small communities is that we are just one little economic disaster away from losing a big business and having economic devastation in Suwanee County.”
Roger Dow, U.S. Travel Association: “…I see every one of the states, I see 400 and 500 destinations, and let me tell you, this is not a zero-sum game. You heard about Pennsylvania- they cut their little budget by $20 million and lost $600 million in tax revenue over five years. You heard about Colorado- they eliminated their small department and the state lost, over five years, $134 million. It was said by a representative that Florida is different. Yes, Florida is different. It is a tourism economy. If you take this economy on, I can guarantee you the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars. California is thrilled that you’re having this bill because they have raised their budge to $110 million when it used to be $50 [million]. I moved here because it is a no income tax state, but the bottom line is you have no choice- if you pass this bill, you are going to go to either an income tax state or increase sales taxes or cut services, and that’s not acceptable.”
Amy Lukasik, Flagler County Board of County Commissioners: “Following Hurricane Matthew, within days, VISIT FLORIDA and the FRLA made it a priority to visit with us. They viewed our damage and they had conversations on how they could help us overcome the national attention we received saying our destination was closed for business. At VISIT FLORIDA’s expense, they hired a video production company and through assistance of our office produced four videos with two more committed- in rapid fire they were posted by paid advertisement on the Google network display and all of their social media platforms. Collectively, over 3.2 million people viewed the video within one month’s span and it’s growing. On our behalf and also on their expense, VISIT FLORIDA pitched a culinary trail feature of our destination with a focus on Flagler County and provided us with additional co-op programs at a rate that we could never afford on our own. The effort has shown dividends to our small business owners. In just one month, our collections rose 16 percent over the previous years. This would have never happened without the support of VISIT FLORIDA.”
Carol Dover, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA): “If you had been here when VISIT Florida was designed by the Legislature in ’95-’96… we spent about a decade where the Legislature earmark $28 million, $32 million, but always ranged between the $25-35 million range. We could not break the ceiling of the 80, 82, 85 million visitors. We couldn’t do it. And ultimately, we got the additional funding, we broke the ceiling, and today we sit at 106 million visitors and climbing.”
Scarlett Phaneuf, The Bay Economic Development Alliance: “Because we are a local economic development organization, everything we do involves Enterprise Florida. We work together in ways that transcend brokering incentives. We prove a whole host of services.”
Mike Meidel, Pinellas County Economic Development: “The fundamental presuppositions to this bill are wrong. Economic development is all about creating opportunity for every business and every citizen in the State of Florida. What we try to do is create more money in the local economy. We don’t target winners ans losers, we create winner for everybody. We do that by identifying companies that sell their product or service outside of the State of Florida, they bring that new money into our economy, they distribute it into the economy through the payrolls of their high wage employees who have strong discretionary income to buy locally from the retailers establishments from dry cleaners, from personal services, from lawyers, from realtors, from everyone in the local economy that does that secondary transactional type economy. But without having that original money, we cannot even go any further.”
Paul Carlilse, Glades County: “We rely on Enterprise Florida and VISIT FLORIDA. We’re a rural community of economic opportunity. Most people think Florida on the west coast stops at I-75, and on the east coast they think it stops at the Turnpike and north they think it stops at I-4. We have no other way to get our message out other than through the economic incentives through Enterprise Florida and VISIT FLORIDA… We need to take a que from our corporate partners, we don’t want to stop advertising now. Coca Cola, one of the most noticeable brands in the country, spends billions of dollars on advertising. They don’t stop advertising because they lead- they keep advertising because they want to maintain that.”

Senate Advances Excellence in Higher Education Legislation

Posted on

Senate Bill 2, the Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act, and Senate Bill 4, Faculty Recruitment, both sponsored by Senator Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) today passed the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education.
“As these key bills continue to move through our committee process, I am encouraged by the feedback from and focus on our college and university students,” said President Negron. “The opportunity to hear from students and learn about the challenges they face as they work to complete their degrees is extremely valuable. Like many students today, I worked throughout college and law school, and I understand the challenge of working and balancing difficult coursework. I am confident this package of policy enhancements will help more students graduate on-time, while maintaining the flexibility some students need as they balance their studies with family and work obligations.”
“This legislation prioritizes on-time graduation as a goal for our system of higher education, while still recognizing that, for a variety of reasons, not all students will be able to complete their programs within the traditional timetable,” said Senator Galvano. “The legislation makes it clear that schools are only evaluated on the graduation rates of our traditional, full-time, first-time-in-college students. No student is penalized in any way by this policy. In fact, this pro-student legislation removes institutional barriers and helps to ease financial insecurities that lead students to delay graduation.”
Senate Bills 2 and 4 are key components of the Senate’s Excellence in Higher Education Agenda for the 2017 Legislative Session. Senate Bill 2, the Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act, promotes on-time graduation by expanding student financial assistance and support, establishing tuition and fee incentives, streamlining 2+2 articulation, and strengthening mechanisms that keep colleges and universities accountable to Florida taxpayers. Senate Bill 4, Faculty Recruitment, expands policy and funding tools universities can leverage to recruit and retain the very best faculty, enhance professional and graduate schools, and improve aging infrastructure and research laboratories.
SENATE BILL 2 – THE FLORIDA EXCELLENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION ACT
Expands Student Financial Assistance and Support

  • Reinstates Highest Bright Futures Scholarship Program Award (Florida Academic Scholar) to cover 100 percent of tuition and certain tuition-indexed fees, including the summer term, plus $300 for textbooks and college-related expenses during the fall and spring terms.
  • Expands the Benacquisto Scholar Program to provide awards for qualified out-of-state students, as funded in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), equal to the highest cost of resident student attendance at a state university. The student must physically reside in the community of the university he or she is attending.
  • Revises the 1st Generation Matching Grant Program to provide two to one (state to local match versus one to one), as funded in the GAA.

Establishes Tuition and Fee Incentives
The Legislature has authorized state universities to implement flexible tuition policies to assist students in accessing higher education in our state. To date, no state university has implemented a block tuition policy.

  • Requires universities to implement a block tuition policy, which must specify an in-state block tuition rate and an out-of-state block tuition rate for full-time undergraduate students. The university board of trustees and the Board of Governors must publicly approve the block tuition policy in time for implementation by no later than the Fall 2018 semester.

Streamlines 2+2 Articulation

  • Establishes the 2+2 targeted pathway program to strengthen Florida’s 2+2 system of articulation and improve student retention and on-time graduation in four years with a baccalaureate degree.
  • Requires each community college to execute at least one 2+2 targeted pathway articulation agreement by the 2018-19 academic year. The articulation agreement must provide students who meet specified requirements guaranteed access to the state university and baccalaureate degree program in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
  • Requires district school boards to notify students and parents with accurate and timely information about how college credits generated in high school will apply towards a college degree.

Strengthens Mechanisms That Keep Colleges and Universities Accountable To Florida Taxpayers
Incentivizes full-time student graduation in four years by focusing institutional efforts on initiatives that reduce student time to, and costs of, on-time degree completion.

  • Upgrades State University System (SUS) Performance Metrics in Preeminence and Performance Funding programs: 
    • Tightens graduation rate expectations to four-year (from six-year) for a baccalaureate degree. (Note: Universities are only evaluated based on the graduation rates of students who are enrolled full-time, beginning in the fall semester, and who have not previously enrolled.)
    • Repeals preeminent university authority for a six-credit set of “unique courses” that consume time and money for non-transferable credit.
  • Upgrades Florida College System (FCS) Performance Metrics in Distinguished College and Performance Funding programs:
    • Tightens degree (associate and bachelor) graduation rate metrics to 100 percent (versus 150 percent) of normal-time completion. (Note: Colleges are only evaluated based on the graduation rates of students who are enrolled full-time, beginning in the fall semester, and who have not previously enrolled.)
    • Adds a college affordability metric, which must be adopted by the State Board of Education.
    • Specifies that the job placement metric must be based on wage thresholds that reflect the added value of the applicable certificate or degree.

SENATE BILL 4 – RECRUIT AND RETAIN ELITE FACULTY

  • Establishes a World Class Faculty Scholar Program to fund university efforts to recruit, recognize, and retain star faculty and teams, as funded in the GAA.
  • Establishes a University Professional and Graduate Degree Excellence Program to promote quality and excellence in university professional school and graduate study outcomes in high-impact fields of medicine, law, and business, as funded in the GAA.
  • Links education to job opportunities by expanding university responsibility to identify internship opportunities for students to benefit from industry experts and mentors, earn industry certifications, and become employed in high-demand fields of unmet need.