There is no doubt that a higher-education diploma can unlock the door to opportunity for families in our state. A great education leads to great jobs. We have passionately fought against attempts to raise the cost of university and college tuition in Florida because increasing the price of tuition decreases the number of families who can afford to provide this critical experience for their children.

After fighting off tuition-increase attempts last year, I recently line-item vetoed a 3 percent tuition increase submitted by the legislature in our 2013—14 state budget. The argument for their tuition increase goes something like this: Florida tuition is lower than tuition in other states, so it should be higher; and, without more money, our universities cannot provide better services.

First, let’s look at the cost of tuition in Florida. We should be proud that Florida is ranked 40th in the country for the tuition costs of its public four-year institutions, as reported by the College Board, just as we are proud to have no state income tax. But, let’s put this ranking in context. The recent history of tuition in Florida has been one of constant increases. The average cost of tuition and fees at our state university system has risen more than 125 percent over the past ten years. This means that a student who entered a state university in 2009–10 has seen tuition and fees increase by 40 percent from his freshman year to the current year (going from $140.13 per credit hour in 2009–10 to $195.33 per credit hour this year). What other industry has managed to stay in business while raising its prices by 125 percent, even during a national recession?

At this rate, it is almost impossible for a family to save and plan for college. It is no wonder so many graduates today are leaving school with massive student-loan debt that limits their future opportunities.
The rising cost of tuition is also becoming a financial strain on families planning for their child’s future college education through Florida’s Prepaid College Plan Program. Because this program is linked to the rising cost of tuition, the program’s cost for a newborn has climbed more than 350 percent in the last six years. That means a family purchasing the prepaid four-year university plan this year will pay almost $54,000 — an increase of approximately $42,000 in nine years. Under current projections, the same plan would exceed $140,000 in 2030. If we don’t hold the line on tuition now, we are pricing many families out of the opportunity to achieve their dreams.

Second, the argument that schools need to charge families more in tuition to improve the quality of their services ignores the high rankings our university system has achieved. For example, the State University System of Florida continues to be ranked in the top ten nationally for six-year graduation rates (66 percent). The system is a national leader in online education and has increased degree production in science, technology, engineering, and math during the past four years by almost 30 percent. The bottom line: Florida has proven that a high-quality university experience can be offered at a low cost. This shouldn’t surprise us. We are the same state that offers quality services at a low cost to businesses that locate, grow, and create jobs here. We should be able to do the same in our higher-education system.

While many political leaders have been quick to join us in fighting tax and fee increases on almost any other front, our fight to hold the line on tuition has proven less popular. But we owe it to the families in our state who are paying tuition today and those planning to pay tuition for the next generation of Floridians to be direct: Raising tuition is a tax increase. And, unfortunately, it is a tax increase that directly affects whether Floridians can achieve the American dream of earning a higher-education diploma.

The easy answer in government will always be to spend more money. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right answer. In business, it is the company that can provide the highest-quality service at the lowest cost that succeeds. That is what we want for our higher-education system in Florida. The opportunities and dreams of future graduates are at stake, and we owe it to them to continue our fight against the tax increase of rising tuition.

View my Op-ed in the National Review here.

Is Florida back from the brink? Not all the way, but the latest state employment numbers were plenty bullish. The unemployment rate in the Sunshine State fell to 7.2 percent, and another 17,000 jobs were added —which placed it third in job creation, trailing only first-place Texas and New York.

No state collapsed more during the real-estate bubble than Florida. Property values fell in some of the pricier markets—Naples, Fort Lauderdale, Marco Island—by 50 percent or more. Unemployment climbed above 11 percent.

Now the needles are all pointed in a northward direction, and the man in charge during the turnaround is Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

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The state has seen employment rise by just over 350,000 since 2010.

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Sure, there’s a national recovery, but the unemployment rate in Florida “has fallen almost twice as much as the national average,” the governor noted. Mr. Scott credits pro-growth policies. “We cut taxes 24 times,” he said, including business and property taxes by $200 per homeowner. The budget deficit has been tamed. The housing oversupply has been cut by one-third.

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Governor Scott said, “Florida’s families are getting back to work and our state’s economy is growing. With 16,700 new private sector jobs added last month and an unemployment rate that continues to decline, Florida is once again below the national average at 7.2 percent.

“Growing jobs is our top priority and this legislative session we eliminated barriers on manufacturers to ensure Florida is a top destination for manufacturing jobs.  Just last week we also welcomed Hertz to Florida and are excited they have chosen to relocate their corporate headquarters to the Sunshine State.  It is clear that our policies to create jobs for Florida families and attract new and expanding businesses to Florida is working.”

Since December 2010, Florida’s statewide unemployment rate has dropped nearly four percentage points, from a rate of 11.1 percent to April’s rate of 7.2 percent. In the same timeframe, the national unemployment rate has dropped 1.8 percentage points, demonstrating Florida’s improving economic climate continues to outpace the national recovery. Florida’s unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 30 consecutive months.

More Jobs Being Created

• With the addition of 16,700 private sector jobs over the month, Florida has experienced positive annual job growth now for 33 consecutive months. This adds up to 330,000 new private sector jobs created in Florida since December 2010.
• Florida job postings increased in April 2013 compared to the previous April by 7,977 (+3.2 percent), for a total of 255,567 openings (seasonally adjusted) according to the Help Wanted OnLine data series from the Conference Board.
• Florida’s job growth month-to-month has been positive for 21 of the last 22 months.
• Florida is expected to create more than 900,000 new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference.
• Job postings for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) occupations in Florida compiled by the Help Wanted OnLine data series from The Conference Board totaled 58,637 (seasonally adjusted) openings in April 2013. Over the year, STEM job postings were up by 3,842 openings (+7.0 percent) compared to April 2012.  Over the month, STEM demand in April increased by 2,931 openings (+5.3 percent) from the 55,637 postings in March 2013.

Unemployment Continues to Decline

• Florida’s unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 30 consecutive months.
• Initial claims for Reemployment Assistance benefits were down by 10.1 percent from one year ago.

Home Sales Robust

• Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 33 percent from March 2012 (Florida Realtors).
• Florida housing starts were up over the year in March 2013 (the most recent month available) by 41.1 percent and median home prices were up 15.9 percent in March 2013 over the year.

Economic Growth Trends Up Across State

• A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state. Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico.
• Florida is running a trade surplus of over $24 billion – with $86.8 billion in exports and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011, up from $73.1 billion in exports in 2010 and $53.2 billion in imports in 2010.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

• In April, Florida’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 41,300 Floridians were placed in jobs. An individual who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center and finds a job within 180 days is deemed a placement and may be reported by a regional workforce board. Of these individuals, 11,457 previously received Reemployment Assistance.
• In 2012, more than 426,000 Floridians were placed in jobs, with nearly 111,173 former claimants finding employment.

ERIC GIUNTA, Sunshine State News

May 2, 2013

For Full Story Click HERE

The Florida Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) have not always seen eye-to-eye when it comes to public policy, but as the 2013 legislative session comes to a close they’re certainly agreed on one thing: Gov. Rick Scott “is working” for Florida.

“Frankly, it is working,” Brad Swanson, the Chamber’s vice president of corporate and strategic partnerships, tells Sunshine State News, echoing Scott’s signature campaign slogan. “If you look at what Governor Scott has done since he’s come into office, Florida’s unemployment continues to buck the national trend and outperform. New jobs are constantly being created. In general, job creators can see Florida really is a better place to do business.”

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“This governor has been more engaged in directly soliciting businesses to relocate to Florida than any governor I’ve worked with for at least the last 20 years,” Bill Herrle, NFIB’s Florida executive director, tells SSN. “[Scott's] told me personally: ‘I don’t care if it’s one job or a hundred jobs, if you know any business owner thinking of coming to Florida, tell me: I’ll call him personally.’

“We’ve done that, and he does that. It’s been a genuine demonstrable commitment of time he’s spent to recruit businesses to Florida, both domestic and international.”

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Herrle agrees, pointing to several measures taken by Scott in order to make the state more competitive and to attract business.

“He recognizes that the Caribbean is blossoming, it’s booming; South America is doing fantastic, the Panama Canal is expanding,” he says. “And Scott, smartly, got in there and pushed for us to upgrade our ports so we can be in a position to compete for that trade.”

Besides merely cheerleading for the state’s business community – “it’s not the sophisticated, high-powered hospital executives who he appeals to, it’s the kid starting the doughnut shop,” said Herrle – Swanson and Herrle both praised Scott’s advocacy for, and ratification of, legislation that reduces the tax and regulatory burden on businesses.

Both the House and the Senate approved Wednesday a sales tax exemption on manufacturing equipment. The tax break was one of Scott’s chief legislative priorities this session.

“We’ve got to have something to put on those ships coming into our ports,” Herrle said of the machinery falling under the exemption, just before the House delivered its vote Wednesday evening.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s teachers are going to get a pay raise, but it won’t be coming until next year.

House and Senate budget negotiators finished their work late Sunday night. One of the last items agreed to was a pay raise package for the state’s teachers.

But the raise won’t take effect until June 2014. And it won’t be an across-the-board, $2,500 raise like Gov. Rick Scott initially recommended.

Instead, teachers ranked as effective will be eligible for a $2,500 pay raise, while those ranked as highly effective would be eligible for $3,500. Teacher performance would be linked to student achievement, but the final plan would be developed and approved by each school board across the state.

Scott issued a statement applauding the final deal reached by legislators, saying it should still lead to most teachers getting a raise.

“Our teachers are some of the best in the nation and they deserve to be rewarded for their great work,” Scott said.

Florida Education Association President Andy Ford also praised the deal because it means that additional money will be going to the state’s schools.

But House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, said the deal was a “slap in the face” to teachers because they will have to wait more than a year before they get the raise.

“That is really an insult that they have to wait until 2014,” said Thurston.

Lawmakers have set aside a total of $480 million for the raises, which would also be available to principals, assistant principals, librarians and guidance counselors. It’s part of an overall $1 billion increase for education that legislators set aside in the proposed $74 billion budget.

“This is an incredible win for the teachers and students of our state,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford in a statement.

Legislators worked through the entire weekend to finish up work on the budget. Some of the decisions that they reached – including a 3 percent tuition hike for college and university students – have been opposed by Scott.

Top Republicans, however, insisted that Scott should still be pleased with many of the spending items included in the final budget.

Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, contended that Scott had been a “constructive and strong partner.”

“Neither the House nor the Senate nor the governor won in these budget negotiations,” Gaetz said in a statement.

Legislators had to reach a final deal on the budget in order to end the session by May 3. State law requires that the budget be placed on the desk of lawmakers 72 hours before a final vote.

Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart and the Senate budget chief, said it’s possible that lawmakers could now vote on the budget a day earlier than expected.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

New York Daily News: “New York’s future flees to Florida”

William Ruger and Jason Sorens, New York Daily News

March 31, 2013

For Full Story Click HERE

New Yorkers have long retired to the warmth and ease of the Florida coast, but eyebrow-raising numbers show that in recent years, most of those moving from the Empire State to the Sunshine State have been going there to find work.

Florida remains the top destination for outbound New Yorkers, but the new migrants are a lot younger than you’d expect.

According to the five-year American Community Survey, which the U.S. Census conducted from 2007 to 2011, 78% of the people who migrated from New York to Florida in those years were under age 60. The ages with the highest proportions of migrants to Florida were 18, 19, 21, 24, 28, 40 and 55.

Even leaving out the 18- and 19-year olds, many of whom are probably college students, that’s a lot of early retirees, and an astonishing number of young workers.

Even the numbers of New Yorkers moving to Florida in their late 30s and mid 40s aren’t much lower than the number of retirees moving at the end of their careers.

This means that an increasing number of New Yorkers either can’t afford to remain in their home state or can’t find work there — and are thus moving to states with friendlier business climates to find it.

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States that allow residents to keep more of their money and run businesses without undue burdens create higher personal income growth and draw steady streams of people from other states.

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All of which has made the Sunshine State even more enticing for the young today than it has long been for the old.

Governor Scott said, “With an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent, the lowest in more than four years, and nearly 300,000 private sector jobs created over the last two years, we have proof that IT’S WORKING. Our efforts to reduce taxes, pay down state debt and grow the economy, demonstrates our success in growing jobs for Florida families. While today’s announcement is great news, we know we have more work to do to ensure that every Florida family that wants a job can get one.”

Over the month, the state experienced an increase of 7,700 private-sector jobs, while 139,200 private sector jobs have been created since February 2012. Since Governor Scott took office, the state’s unemployment rate has dropped 3.4 percentage points, the second largest drop in the nation.

More Jobs Being Created

• Florida has experienced positive annual job growth now for 31 consecutive months.
• Florida job postings increased in February 2013 compared to the previous February by 21,366 (+8.8 percent), for a total of 263,240 openings (seasonally adjusted) according to the Help Wanted OnLine data series from the Conference Board.
• Florida’s job growth month-to-month has been positive for 19 of the last 20 months.
• Florida is expected to create more than 900,000 new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference.
• The number of available online job openings in STEM-related (sciences, technology, engineering, and math) fields in Florida have increased since last year, up 10.4 percent, for a total of 57,488 postings in February 2013.

Unemployment Continues to Decline

• Florida’s unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 28 consecutive months.

Home Sales Robust

• Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 32 percent from February 2012 (Florida Realtors).
• Florida housing starts were up over the year in January 2013 (the most recent month available) by 52.6 percent and median home prices were up 12.8 percent in February 2013 over the year.

Economic Growth Trends Up Across State

• A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state. Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico.
• Florida is running a trade surplus of over $24 billion – with $86.8 billion in exports and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011, up from $73.1 billion in exports in 2010 and $53.2 billion in imports in 2010.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

• In February, the state’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 38,000 Floridians placed in jobs.

·         More than 426,000 Floridians were placed in jobs in 2012, with 111,173 former claimants finding employment.

Since December 2010, one month before Scott took office, the unemployment rate in Florida has dropped from 11.1 percent to 7.8 percent — that rate is lower than the national average. After two years of Scott’s policies, 282,000 private sector jobs have been created; in the previous four years the state had lost 825,000 jobs.

The past two years have set records for tourism, Florida’s biggest industry. In 2012, 89.3 million people visited Florida, up 2.3 percent from the previous record-setting year.

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When Scott took over he was handed an economy in the tank, large debts and budget deficits — a complete mess. Then he went to work.

* Reforming state government: He oversaw a reduction in over 2300 needless regulations and 12,000 government positions.

* Cutting taxes: He cut property taxes by more than $210 million and eliminated the state for 63 percent of the businesses that paid it when he was a elected. He is doubling down in the current legislative session by proposing to eliminate the tax for all manufacturing companies — which would mean that 70 percent of all Florida businesses would no longer pay the tax. He intends to make that 100 percent before he’s done.

* Personal income has also risen by 6.6 percent in Florida since Scott took office, going against a national trend where the family dollars are being stretched razor thin.

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When you contrast Florida with Washington, there is no contest. A growing Florida economy vs. a struggling national economy. More jobs being created vs. no jobs being created. A balanced budget for a streamlined, reformed government focused on providing effective services to the people vs. an ever-growing monstrous federal government with record deficits and debts.

The whole record is impressive and Rick Scott deserves a lot of credit for taking the heat for tough decisions, staying the course, and implementing pro-growth policies that are bearing fruit.

See the full Huffington Post article here.

Over the month, the state experienced an increase of 14,700 private-sector jobs. Since Governor Scott took office, the state’s unemployment rate has dropped 3.3 percentage points. Florida’s January 2013 unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was lower than the January national average of 7.9 percent.

Governor Scott said, “Everything we do is geared toward job creation. Today we have more proof that IT’S WORKING. Our unemployment rate is down to 7.8 percent – falling below the national average for the first time in five years. We have added more than 280,000 private-sector jobs over the last two years, and as we continue to focus on greater economic growth, we will see even more jobs created.

“Other states chose to raise taxes. Other states chose to increase debt. In Florida, we chose the course of economic growth and greater job creation by cutting taxes and paying down debt for the first time in decades by $2 billion. Today’s announcement is more proof that our formula for economic growth is working and providing more jobs and opportunities for Florida families. We are glad to see our unemployment rate fall below the national average for the first time in years, but our work isn’t done until every Floridian who wants a job can find one.

“Today’s event at Mitsubishi Power Systems also highlights the importance of our mission to totally eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing equipment. I am grateful for the legislators who are committed to supporting this priority. With their help, we will achieve another important milestone in Florida’s economic growth.”

Every March, the U.S. Department of Labor’s, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity release January employment and unemployment estimates as well as revised historical data.  Today’s announcement is the result of that annual process, which is known as “benchmarking.”  These benchmark revisions are a standard part of the estimation process and take place this same time every year in each state nationwide.

More Jobs Being Created

• Florida has experienced positive annual job growth now for 30 consecutive months.
• Florida job postings increased in February 2013 compared to the previous February by 21,366 (+8.8 percent), for a total of 263,240 openings (seasonally adjusted) according to the Help Wanted OnLine data series from the Conference Board.
• Florida’s job growth month-to-month has been positive for 18 of the last 19 months.
• Florida is expected to create 900,000 new jobs by 2018, according to the Florida Economic Estimating Conference.
• The number of available online job openings in STEM-related (sciences, technology, engineering, and math) fields in Florida have increased since last year, up 10.4 percent, for a total of 57,488 postings in February 2013.

Unemployment Continues to Decline

• Florida’s unemployment rate has now declined year-over-year for 27 consecutive months.
• Initial claims for Reemployment Assistance benefits were down by almost 15 percent from one year ago.

Home Sales Robust

• Home sales remain robust as the backlog of existing homes on the market is down by 41 percent from November 2011 (Florida Realtors).
• Florida housing starts were up over the year in January (the most recent month available) by 52.6 percent and median home prices were up 12.4 percent over the year.

Economic Growth Trends Up Across State

• A recent U.S. Census Survey reported that Florida experienced an influx of people moving into the state. Florida also led the nation in migrations from Puerto Rico.
• Florida is running a trade surplus of over $24 billion – with $86.8 billion in exports and $62.4 billion in imports in 2011, up from $73.1 billion in exports in 2010 and $53.2 billion in imports in 2010.

Workforce Boards Assisting in Employment

• In February, the state’s 24 Regional Workforce Boards reported more than 38,000 Floridians placed in jobs.
• More than 426,000 Floridians were placed in jobs in 2012, with 111,173 former claimants finding employment.

Due to the processing time needed to prepare the annual benchmarking updates, the release of February 2013 employment data is scheduled for March 29. For the remainder of 2013, the monthly releases of the prior month’s data will occur on the third Friday of each month.  To view the January 2013 monthly employment data visit:

www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.