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Jeb Bush's Plan For Budgetary Sunshine
by Maureen Sirhal
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is aiming to boost his state's economy without raising taxes. In his fifth annual State of the State address on Monday, Bush outlined the need to fund security efforts and research while avoiding costly tax hikes that would discourage economic revitalization.
He praised the efforts of state lawmakers to accelerate the tax write-off for business purchases of new equipment in line with recommendations from the White House. As a result, "corporate tax revenues are expected to rise by over 20 percent during the next fiscal year and over the long term will be a significant boost to our state budget," Bush said in his address.
Florida is facing a multibillion-dollar deficit. But Bush charged that investment in key sectors can help drive economic growth and boost tax revenues. "We must learn from the example of other states that have tried to tax and spend their way to prosperity," he said. "It's not working."
Bush also is looking to increase state funding for technology research. He urged lawmakers to pursue policies that would expand the job base by investing resources in Centers of Excellence, research hubs that combine academic and industry expertise on issues such as laser optics.
But two issues are placing are placing burdens on Florida businesses: worker's compensation rules and medical malpractice. Bush argued that the high cost of both have put Florida at a disadvantage by increasing the costs of doing business for companies, and he proposed reforms to cap malpractice awards and to ensure that employers protect workers.
Florida's Bid To Be A Homeland Security Haven
As the nation contemplates a war with Iraq, homeland security is an important aspect of Bush's policy agenda in Florida. And federal officials at a government technology conference in Orlando this week praised Florida's security initiatives, calling the state a model for the nation.
In his State of the State address, Bush emphasized the need to leverage military presence in the state to "cement Florida's position as a haven not only for military forces and defense-based contracting but also for defense-related R&D and homeland-defense innovation." And he stressed the need for Florida to continue its security initiatives by creating a $40 million contingency fund to meet future needs.
"Creating this fund will help our state respond quickly to the urgent economic and domestic security priorities that may arise," Bush said.
To date, Florida has established seven regional task forces on security composed of representatives from all areas of public safety, as well as from the private sector. Their mission is to craft strategies for responding to terrorist threats, natural disasters and other emergencies.
The groups have forged a successful partnership with federal immigration officials that has enhanced the resources for law enforcement officials, said Stephen Lauer, chief of domestic security at the Department of Law Enforcement. He said state law enforcers now can access "key infrastructure and data systems" on immigrants at the federal level.
With funds appropriated shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Florida officials devised a statewide network to gather, analyze and act on terrorist and other security-related information. The Web-based system known as ThreatNet connects law enforcement communities with other public-safety and emergency-response organizations, Lauer said.
Florida also is one of the few states that purchased equipment to allow response teams to communicate across different networks and jurisdictions. "The information technology systems that we use are the absolute backbone to all the information necessary to fight this fight effectively," Lauer stressed.
To help propel such security initiatives, Bush pledged to pursue more federal aid.
California Senate Passes 'Opt In' Privacy Bill
The California state Senate has passed a privacy bill that would further restrict the ability of banks and financial services companies to share consumer data. The chamber voted 23-6 on Monday 23-6 to approve the measure, S.B. 1.
Under the legislation, financial firms could not share their customers' personal information with non-affiliated third parties unless consumers first "opt in" to the system. "The public has waited long enough for financial privacy," Democratic Sen. Jackie Speier, who authored the bill, said in a statement. "They are tired of unwanted invasions into their personal life."
The measure now moves to the state Assembly, and Speier urged the legislature to send it to Gov. Gray Davis by Memorial Day. If the bill is not enacted this year, Speier indicated that a group of consumer advocates led by E-Loan CEO Chris Larsen would work to place the issue on the ballot so consumers can vote directly on the matter.
Financial service firms criticized the measure as burdensome. "In its current form, S.B. 1 would give consumers different levels of privacy protection depending on with whom they do business, and ... consumers would pay higher prices while missing out on new conveniences and services," argued Bill Gausewitz, vice president at the American Insurance Association.
Texas Lawmakers Target Junk E-Mail
Texas lawmakers are getting sick of the junk e-mail commonly known as spam. Two state legislators have introduced measures designed to stem the tide of such e-mail, the San Antonio-Express reports.
The companion bills, H.B. 1282 in the House and S.B. 698 in the Senate, would require commercial e-mails to be labeled with "ADV," for advertisement. Similar to rules in a dozen other states, the measures also would mandate that commercial solicitors include return e-mail addresses and toll-free phone numbers on spam to let consumers opt out of future mailings.
Selling the e-mail addresses of individual who ask not to receive unsolicited messages would result in a misdemeanor. Violators would face civil penalties of either $10 per message or $25,000 per day. Violators who send messages with fraudulent or deceptive information also could be fined an extra $200 for each message.
E-Filing Of Tax Returns Up In Virginia
More Virginia residents are filing their income-tax forms electronically, according to state tax officials. The Taxation Department's early figures indicate that 30 percent more taxpayers have filed their returns online or by telephone.
More than 682,000 individual returns have been processed since late February, and nearly 75 percent of them, or 507,334, were filed using the joint federal/state e-filing system, Virginia's Internet-based iFile program or the state's telephone-based tax-filing service.
Business Group Plays Matchmaker
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched an initiative designed to offer small businesses an opportunity to snag government and corporate contracts. In conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Hewlett-Packard, the chamber launched the first of several regional "matchmaking" conferences in Orlando, Fla., this week.
The conferences provide opportunities for training, networking, education and procurement in one location. Small-business owners were given the chance to garner contracts from defense and technology companies, including Raytheon, and federal departments and agencies.
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