FALL
EDITION 2015
. MISSION
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insight on Florida's economy and financial health.
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through state budgets, contracts, and more resources.
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investigating criminal acts of suspected insurance fraud.
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. CFO LETTER
Dear Fellow Floridians:
Creating the conditions for success is necessary to the progress and growth of our economy.
I believe that government should not stand in the way of entrepreneurs, families, or
communities, but instead provide the framework for success so that they can thrive. By
reducing regulations, cutting taxes, and paying off debt, Florida ensures that businesses have
the ability to expand and flourish. After all, businesses create jobs in our communities and
grow our state’s economy. By recognizing the opportunities that effective public policy can
play in our economy, Florida provides the crucial structure and support that is essential
for prosperity.
INSIDE
STORIES
Florida: A Beacon of
Liberty & Prosperity
SEE PAGE 1
Florida's Strong
Fiscal Conditions
SEE PAGE 2
This edition of Florida’s Bottom Line highlights how Florida has been able to create the
conditions for success for businesses, families, and communities around the state.
Inside you
will find stories from leaders around Florida who have seen the opportunities that our state
offers and the resulting outcomes.
Florida: Creating
the Opportunities
for Success
SEE PAGE 3
I invite you to read about the opportunities that Florida has created through fiscal discipline
and limited government. I’m proud of what our state has done to foster these opportunities,
and I am excited to share these achievements.
Florida's
Advanced
Manufacturing
SEE PAGE 4
Sincerely,
Innovation,
Entrepreneurship,
& Florida
SEE PAGE 5
The Role of Infrastructure
in Florida’s Competitiveness
SEE PAGE 7
Jeff Atwater
Chief Financial Officer
State of Florida
The New Definition
of Public Education
SEE PAGE 8
Infographic
SEE BACK COVER
SUBSCRIBE TO FLORIDA’S BOTTOM LINE »
SEND US YOUR COMMENTS!»
. Florida: A Beacon of Liberty & Prosperity
By Dr. J. Robert McClure, III
President & CEO of The James Madison Institute
There is a little known fact that to this day makes me shake my
head. When Florida became the 27th state in 1845, our first state
flag had three words emblazoned on it: “Let Us Alone.” I feel it’s still
one of the single most ironic pieces of Florida history.
Fast-forward
170 years and our great state is one of the most visited places
in the entire world (nearly 100 million visitors a year), a hub of
global trade (15 ports and $158 billion in trade), has the 4th largest
economy in the U.S., and if Florida were a nation, our economy
would be the 18th largest ($748 billion) on the planet.
Dr. Bob McClure is the President
& CEO of The James Madison
Institute.
We’ve come quite a ways from “Let Us Alone,” but it all didn’t just
happen by accident.
Looking just within our borders, over the past 20 years, Florida has
become a beacon of liberty and prosperity. We have, for the most
part, taken a deliberate and consistent policy route to promote free
markets, less government intrusion, and fewer regulatory burdens.
And the result is clear – between 1992 and 2014, more than $127
billion in income has migrated from high tax/high regulation states
to Florida.
Facts don’t lie: $23.8 billion from New York, $14.8 billion
from New Jersey, $10.3 billion from Illinois, and $8.6 billion from
Pennsylvania lead the way.
But numbers can have an unintended consequence of masking the
remarkable journey behind them. The reality is that Florida’s path
to prosperity is a unique and glorious story.
It’s the story of the medical device manufacturer that won the U.S.
Chamber’s small business of the year award in 2013 – a company
that is innovating healthcare delivery every day for tens of millions
of Americans. It’s the passion of a husband and wife team who
started a craft brewery in Tallahassee and now employ 10 people.
It’s the vision of a young Cuban immigrant who worked to build
an equity firm now worth more than $1 billion.
It’s the drive of the
single mom from Tampa who went from cutting hair to owning
three salons. In short, the Florida dream is the American dream.
There is no secret behind the incredible success of one of my
favorite shows on television. Since its inception in 2009, Shark
Tank has captivated our love of ingenuity, progress, innovation and
the beauty of the free enterprise system.
It is the only system of
economic governance that has had the effect of lifting more than 2
billion people out of poverty worldwide over the past 50 years.
And the Sunshine State has shown the way.
Florida has illustrated first hand that a favorable business
tax structure encourages our economic progress. Repealing
burdensome, unnecessary and duplicative regulations promotes
expansive job growth. Promoting innovation and investment
transforms lives, families and communities into economic engines
of prosperity.
State leaders have cut taxes 50 times since 2010
and more than 70 percent of all businesses currently do not pay
the business tax. It’s no surprise that, Florida continues to be
ranked among the best states for business presently and in future
projections.
Our success is the best advertisement of the path we must continue
and the policy solutions we must pursue. Continuing our course
means we must put our foot on the gas and move ahead with sound
policy that embraces the free market, unleashes entrepreneurs to
innovate without fear of overburdensome government regulation,
and promotes economic opportunity and upward mobility for all
Floridians.
Now is the time to secure a future for our children and
grandchildren that promises the opportunity for prosperity through
hard work, innovation and personal responsibility.
I’m proud to lead The James Madison Institute.
We have seen
firsthand that free market principles provide the best hope for
Florida and the nation to succeed, thrive and prosper. My family
has lived in this great state for five generations, and both my
great-grandfather and my uncle had the pleasure and distinction
of serving in the state Senate. I would like to think that if they
were with us now they would see both our incredible progress as a
state and our need to continue advancing economic freedom to the
benefit of all right here in Florida.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.JAMESMADISON.ORG
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line
1
.
Florida's Strong
Fiscal Conditions
By Dominic Calabro
President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch
Florida’s economy is in a slow, but steady, recovery. This recovery
has state government revenues increasing again, and the budget
deficits of the Great Recession are hopefully a thing of the past.
Sound structural provisions in Florida law and the fiscal discipline
shown by our elected officials allowed us to weather that storm, and
the state fiscal position remains strong.
Florida has one of the best balanced budget requirements in the
nation, meaning Florida can only spend money that is currently
available. This requirement is in the Florida Constitution, so it
cannot be circumvented. During the recession, as state revenues
declined rapidly, the Legislature was able to pass balanced budgets
and address any deficit that arose.
As the bond rating agency
Fitch stated when it announced Florida’s “AAA” rating in 2013:
“the legislature consistently and promptly addressed numerous
large negative revenue estimate revisions during the downturn,
maintaining budget balance and an adequate reserve position.”
This was accomplished with relatively few tax increases, instead
focusing on budget reductions and cost saving measures.
Budget Reserves
While revenues are on the rise again, the state has some protection
if the economy turns sour or it faces an emergency. Since the
economic recovery began, the Legislature has consistently not
spent all the money that that it had available. This year, the budget
left $1.2 billion in available GR unspent (increased revenue
estimates since the budget was passed has boosted that reserve to
$1.7 billion).
In each of the previous two years these cash reserves
exceeded $1.6 billion.
In addition, the state has a constitutionally mandated Budget
Stabilization Fund which can only be used in the case of budget
shortfalls or certain emergencies. After borrowing from the fund
in 2009 to meet a budget deficit, the fund is now fully repaid and
is at its required balance of 5 percent of GR ($1.35 billion). Florida
currently has total reserves of $3.7 billion, or 12.9 percent of
estimated General Revenue (GR) collections.
Tax Burden
Florida now ranks 50th in per capita state tax collections, meaning
it has the lowest state tax burden in the nation.
However, Florida
relies more heavily than any other state on local governments to
fund government operations. More than half of all revenue is raised
at the local level and Florida’s local tax ranking (25th) is higher than
its state ranking. Still, Florida’s combined state and local tax burden
is well below the national average.
Dominic Calabro is the President
& CEO of Florida TaxWatch.
State Debt
In recent years, Florida has reversed a trend that saw state debt
rising steadily.
Outstanding debt had more than tripled from 1992 to
2010, but it has decreased in each of the last four years. Florida has
been paying off debt faster than it has issued new bonds, leading to
a four-year decrease of $4 billion. Florida has issued an average of
$302 million annually in new tax-supported debt over this period,
which contrasts to an average of $2.32 billion the prior four years.
Florida has also actively pursued bond refinancing opportunities
to take advantage of historically low interest rates, resulting in debt
service savings of $1.25 billion.
Financial Accountability
Florida CFO Jeff Atwater’s office also provides taxpayers with a
valuable online tool to keep tabs on how their governments spend
money.
Transparency Florida “allows Floridians to scrutinize
state budgets, payments and contracts and hold their government
accountable for how every dollar is spent.” It has searchable
databases for state payments and contracts. It also allows taxpayers
access to local government data, allowing them to compare how
their local revenue and spending stacks up to other localities.
Florida’s fiscal condition still has its challenges, particularly at the
local level, where rising pension and debt costs will put a strain on
the budgets of cities and counties. Florida’s tax burden is relatively
low, but history has shown that when property values rise, local tax
burdens can increase rapidly.
And Florida TaxWatch will continue
to highlight instances where the Legislature appropriates funds
without the scrutiny and debate that the spending of taxpayer
dollars deserves. However, with the economy slowly recovering, it
appears the Florida’s fiscal house is in good order, and the state is
well positioned for sustained growth and development, and is better
prepared to weather future economic downturns.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW. FLORIDATAXWATCH.ORG
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 2
.
Florida: Creating
the Opportunities
for Success
By Randy Berridge
President of Florida High Tech Corridor Council
While Florida may still be known to some as the state with
oranges, palm trees and the mouse, rapid growth of high
tech industry over the past 20 years may prove to alter that
mindset in the future.
Randy Berridge is President
of the Florida High Tech
Corridor Council.
Florida has unique clusters of high tech industry and
innovation ranging from modeling, simulation and training to
aerospace, medical technolgy and life sciences. Collectively,
high tech industry contributes to more than $9 billion of R&D
expenditures which drive innovation in the state.
Within the Florida High Tech Corridor, a 23-county
region throughout the center of the state, nearly 20,000
high tech companies research chemotherapy alternatives,
how to get humans into space safely, the nuances of making
sensors smaller and more efficient, best methods to train
soldiers virtually, and more. Since the inception of The
Corridor by the Florida Legislature in 1996, companies have
thrived and new ones continue to emerge in a region focused
on collaboration, partnership, workforce programs and
entrepreneurial support.
A partnership of three state universities that are among the
most respected research institutions – the University of
Central Florida in Orlando, the University of South Florida
in Tampa and the University of Florida in Gainesville – The
Corridor is a unique economic development initiative that
has powered applied research through a matching grants
program that has industry working side-by-side with faculty
and graduate students to move technologies to market.
That Matching Grants Research Program has used more
than $62 million in legislative appropriations over two
decades to attract $180 million in matches from participating
companies, and ongoing analysis shows the downstream
economic impact of the program has exceeded $1 billion from
patents, contracts and additional grants.
However, high tech growth is not exclusive to The Corridor.
•
Miami has had a surge in high tech industry in the
past five years. The city is a perfect fit to connect to
growing technology markets in Latin America and has
taken steps to leverage its assets in doing so.
•
Jacksonville is helping boost the state’s funding
opportunities for entrepreneurs with One Spark, a sixday festival centered on crowdfunding new ideas.
The
event has been a clear success, drawing more than
300,000 people in 2015, and is putting a spotlight on
Florida and its focus on entrepreneurial support.
• The Panhandle has a gem in the Florida Institute for
Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC): researchers
recently created a semi-autonomous robot that placed
second in a global competition in California, and TIME
magazine featured its robot on the June 2015 cover. It’s
safe to say, the accolades for IHMC will keep coming.
Florida’s growth has been phenomenal ... in population as
well as in high tech.
We have a bright future and an enormous
opportunity as the nation’s third-largest state to build an
innovation economy that continues to bring high-wage, highvalue jobs that strengthen the state’s economy and provide
opportunity for future generations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FLORIDAHIGHTECH.COM
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 3
. Florida's Advanced
Manufacturing
By Al Stimac
President of Metal Essence and the
Manufacturers Association of Florida
The requirements of business growth are simple and few: tax
incentives, reduced regulatory red tape, a skilled workforce and
consumer demand. Advanced manufacturing is high tech and it
is booming in Florida. This is due in large part to the focus our
policy leaders are placing on the manufacturing industry. In every
region of the state, roadblocks are being removed, technology
is flourishing, students are being introduced to advanced
manufacturing skill sets, manufacturers are purchasing more
advanced machinery and equipment because of the favorable
sales tax exemption, and collaboration is occurring that is taking
manufacturing to new heights.
In 2014, the Manufacturers Association of Florida (MAF) was
successful in advocating for a three-year sales tax exemption on
manufacturing machinery and equipment.
This incentive has
allowed business owners the opportunity to buy new high tech
equipment, hire more skilled workers and open new facilities. The
Manufacturers Association of Florida is on a mission to make this
temporary tax exemption permanent and secure the future for a
booming manufacturing industry in Florida. The past 15 months
have shown what a positive impact this tax exemption has had on
our state and our industry.
Al Stimac is the President
of Metal Essence and the
Manufacturers Association
of Florida.
opportunity to connect manufacturing to education, identify
gaps and work to solve those concerns.
Teaching skills needed by
Florida manufacturers, offering opportunities for internships,
externships, and apprenticeships, promoting training opportunities
for incumbent workers and connecting students with real-world
experiences allows manufacturers to grow. Florida leaders are laser
focused on providing the workforce that Florida employers need.
Florida’s manufacturers are taking advantage of the emphasis on
STEM education and advanced manufacturing in high schools,
colleges and universities to fuel their workforces. MAF has
partnered with the Florida TRADE Consortium, a group of 14
Florida colleges which offer courses in advanced manufacturing
and targeted industry skilled trades.
The programs offer
certifications and hands on learning that allow students to complete
their training quickly and enter Florida’s manufacturing workforce
as valued employees. For 56 consecutive months, Florida’s
manufacturing industry has added new jobs, now with more than
19,000 manufacturers employing over 338,000 Floridians.
With Florida’s ports, export assistance programs and thriving
resources to capital, such as the Small Business Development
Center (SBDC), Enterprise Florida (EFI), Florida Department of
Transportation, the Florida Ports Council, Florida First Capital
Finance Corporation and Florida Export Finance Corporation,
Florida manufacturers have a wealth of transportation, finance,
and export assistance resources at their disposal. Florida’s
manufacturers are primarily small businesses, giving them
flexibility to meet changing market, and new technology,
demands.
Consumers, worldwide, are looking to manufacturing
for innovative new technology and smarter and safer products at
a competitive price.
In addition to the TRADE partnership, Florida’s Higher Education
Coordinating Council (HECC) is identifying industry needs
and making adjustments at the college and university level to
ensure graduates have the skills needed to serve Florida’s job
market. Serving on HECC is an honor because it gives me an
Advanced manufacturing is growing in our rich business
environment and Florida’s resources for business growth
are abundant. Now is the time to relocate, start or expand a
manufacturing business and benefit from Florida’s nurturing
manufacturing business environment.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.MAFMFG.COM
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 4
.
Innovation,
Entrepreneurship,
and Florida
By Dr. Thomas O'Neal
Associate Vice President for Research & Commercialization at UCF
Florida has a world class tourism and hospitality industry,
one that is the envy of the hospitality and leisure world.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of
2015 almost 14 percent of Florida’s non-farm workers are
employed in the leisure and hospitality sector. While that
is impressive, that also means that 86 percent work in
other industries.
Innovation and entrepreneurship are what has made this
country great and something that Florida continues to
champion and improve.
Evidence of this can be found in
recent national rankings. For the fourth year in a row, Chief
Executive Magazine named Florida the second best state in
the nation for business in the U.S., and The Small Business &
Entrepreneurship Council ranked Florida among the nation's
top five most entrepreneur-friendly states.
Our universities are excellent sources for the raw materials
necessary to excel in an innovation based economy. The
National Science Foundation stated that Florida universities
earned top national rankings for doctorate degree graduates
in fields like Life Sciences (#3), Engineering (#5), Social
Sciences (#7), and Education (#9).
Further, and according to
Florida Technology Journal, Florida ranks 10th nationally for
innovation support.
The evidence and national recognitions demonstrate
that Florida has created a fertile environment for
entrepreneurs to flourish. This can be called an innovation
or entrepreneurial ecosystem. Consider an innovative
ecosystem to be similar to the Great Barrier Reef or rain
forest, in which all parts of that system are interconnected.
Unlike the Sahara Desert ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef
Dr.
Thomas O'Neal is the
Associate Vice President for
Research & Commercialization
at UCF
and the rain forests have the resources and interdependencies
to thrive. Florida’s ecosystem has developed the resources
and network needed to help entrepreneurs grow and evolve.
This is important because research shows that the higher
percentage of growth oriented, entrepreneurial firms you
have in a region, the wealthier everyone is as measured by
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in a region. By
developing an innovation ecosystem, Florida is positioned
to create a wealthier state for its entrepreneurs and all of
its citizens.
People frequently use the term entrepreneur to refer to
small businesses.
However, entrepreneurship encompasses
a broad spectrum — and there’s a chasm between “smallbusiness” and “growth-oriented” entrepreneurship.
Thus, properly identifying what a true entrepreneurial
venture could ultimately determine the success of an
entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Florida has a wealth of resources available to support
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 5
. Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 6
. The Role of Infrastructure
in Florida’s Competitiveness
Dr. Jerry D. Parrish
Chief Economist and Director of Research
at the Florida Chamber Foundation
With six million more residents expected to call Florida home by
2030, a long-term, sustainable infrastructure plan is vital to Florida’s
future economy. Having strong infrastructure systems in place will
help businesses compete globally, and help improve the quality of life
for all Floridians.
Maintaining and developing efficient roads, bridges, ports, and
airports is important for Floridians to travel safely, quickly, and
cost-effectively, and it keeps the cost of doing business and the cost
of living low.
And these infrastructure systems are only a portion of
the overall infrastructure grid. For example, water infrastructure is
increasingly important, not only for the health of the environment,
but also for agriculture and the health of Floridians. Broadband
infrastructure has become increasingly important as an economic
development tool.
It provides high-speed internet service for
individuals, as well as the components of Florida’s growing
innovation economy – such as Florida’s developing Modeling,
Simulation, and Training industry cluster.
Florida currently has more than 500,000 people employed in the
transportation, trade, and logistics sectors, which pay 30 percent
more than the statewide average. Our roads accommodate more
than 100 billion miles of vehicle travel annually – with people going
to work, freight moving through Florida, visitors enjoying vacations
and conferences, and Floridians driving their kids, parents, friends,
and themselves to enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities all over
our state. Florida’s ports move more than 100 million tons of cargo
annually, and Florida airports account for 10 percent of the nation’s
air passengers.
The Florida Chamber Foundation has played a leading role in
Florida’s transportation infrastructure planning by bringing
together stakeholders from all facets of the industry, as well as
business and government leaders.
This effort resulted in the Florida
Chamber Foundation’s Florida Trade and Logistics Study – a report
highlighting the substantial positive impact of transportation on
Florida’s future economy. An extensive update, commonly known as
Florida Trade & Logistics 2 followed in 2013. Both of these widelyread studies included recommendations for Florida to keep investing
in its infrastructure in order to capture more trade and put more
Floridians to work.
What we know is that by expanding trade in Florida, and by
improving our trade and logistics components, we put Floridians
to work.
In fact, recent research shows that expanding Florida's
logistics sector by 10,000 jobs would result in the creation of an
additional 11,000 indirect and induced private non-farm jobs.
Dr. Jerry D. Parrish is the
Chief Economist and Director
of Research at the Florida
Chamber Foundation.
These 11,000 additional jobs would be created in diverse
industries, with nearly 20 percent of these jobs being created in
manufacturing - an estimated 2,162 new jobs in this high-wage
category.
Importantly, many of these jobs would be filled by
Floridians and cannot be outsourced.
A key element of this type of expansion is that by improving
Florida’s logistics infrastructure, the direct, indirect, and induced
jobs expected to be created would provide more than $70,755 per
job created in additional personal income as it expands through
the economy. Not only does expanding personal income benefit
Florida families who work in the businesses created or expanded,
it will also help improve tax receipts for Florida. Florida depends
on sales and use taxes for 74 percent of its general revenue, so these
investments lead to further expansion of the tax base and lowers the
probability of tax increases in the future.
Additionally, improving
our infrastructure substantially benefits Florida’s local governments.
Infrastructure that is efficient and well-planned has a substantial
positive effect on property values, translating directly to higher local
government receipts of ad valorem taxes which fund government
services, especially schools.
However, the future of Florida’s transportation infrastructure is
being threatened as Congress lags behind by not passing a long-term
transportation bill. Although Florida has invested in innovative
transportation infrastructure, including the record-breaking $2.3
billion I-4 Ultimate project in central Florida, which was developed
as a public-private partnership, all states are dependent upon the
federal government for their major transportation projects.
To secure Florida’s future, investing in transportation
infrastructure will strengthen Florida’s productivity and make
our state more competitive.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FLCHAMBER.COM
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 7
. The New Definition
of Public Education
By John F. Kirtley
Chairman of Step Up For Students
The quality of a state's K-12 education system is obviously crucial
to its long-term economic health. Companies looking to relocate
to Florida always inquire about this issue as they think about
attracting quality talent and growth potential in the state. Likewise,
homegrown Florida companies need well-educated employees
to grow.
For these reasons, Florida business leaders should be
interested in the state of our K-12 education system.
What they might be surprised to learn is that the rapid changes
affecting their own businesses—increased customization,
proliferating choices, more technology—are also affecting K-12
education. Indeed, the very definition of "public education" is
changing right before our eyes—and Florida is leading the way.
Twenty years ago, the definition of public education was pretty
simple: the state raised taxpayer dollars to educate children, and
handed all that money over to the public school districts. The
districts operated all the schools in a fairly uniform manner, and
assigned children to schools by their zip code.
However, times are changing – just think about the diversity we
currently see in Florida.
Over one hundred languages are spoken in
the Miami-Dade County public schools alone! Drive fifteen minutes
(obviously not during rush hour) and you go from the wealth of
Coral Gables to the poverty of Liberty City. Given this incredible
ethnic and economic diversity, is it reasonable to expect a one size
fits all model for K-12 to work for every child? No.
Fortunately, Florida is moving toward a new definition of public
education. Under this new model, we still raise taxpayer dollars
to educate children, but now we empower parents to direct
those dollars to different providers—and even different delivery
methods—that best suit their children's unique educational needs.
As a result, Florida is considered a national leader in school
choice, leading in the creation of magnet and charter schools as
well as providing extensive “virtual” education to thousands of
students.
Additionally, many Florida high schoolers are able to take
advantage of "dual enrollment"—taking classes at a local college or
community college while they attend their chosen high school. This
John F. Kirtley is a co-cofounder
of two Florida based private equity
firms, and also the Chairman of
Step Up For Students.
route is a great way for students to get a jump on higher education,
and save money in the process.
We now even have programs where low income and special needs
children can get financial assistance to attend a private school of
their parents' choice, if they need a different environment to thrive.
Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship Program now serves almost
80,000 children, who come from families with incomes of $24,000 a
year on average.
Studies of their test scores show that they were the
worst performers in their public schools when they left, and now
are making solid gains. These studies show that the program has
improved the academic performance of the public schools as well.
Florida taxpayers now pay for the education of 2.8 million K-12
children, over thirty percent of which do not attend their zoned
public school—and that figure is over fifty percent in Miami-Dade
County! Some parents are also beginning to combine providers and
delivery methods at the same time. Is this a good thing? I believe it is.
Over the past fifteen years, as our transition to this new definition
has been taking place, Florida has seen more improvement in
the performance of its low-income children than any other state
in the country.
This improvement is not solely due to this new
customization—the sweeping reforms begun under Governor Jeb
Bush deserve most of the credit—but it is certainly an important
factor. Some may fear or lament our transition away from the old
definition, but they should not. This increased customization will
continue to provide better solutions for Florida's students, and will
help create a better business environment in our state.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.STEPUPFORSTUDENTS.ORG
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
Florida’s Bottom Line 8
.
FALL 2015
1
st
IN
EDUCATIONAL
FREEDOM
5TH BEST
BUSINESS
TAX CLIMATE
HIGHEST PRIVATE
JOB GROWTH
2ND BEST
AMONG PEER STATES
INFRASTRUCTURE
5TH BEST
FISCAL CONDITIONS
2ND BEST STATE
FOR BUSINESS
Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2015 | Mercatus Center
John Locke Foundation | Chief Executive Magazine | U.S. Chamber | PIRG | Tax Foundation
JEFF ATWATER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Jeff Atwater | Chief Financial Officer
For more information about Florida’s economy, please visit
Florida’s Bottom Line 9
www.MyFloridaCFO.com/FloridasBottomLine/
.