F lorida N ews S ummaries
• DeSantis blamed President Joe Biden for the state’s need to provide financial relief amid record-high inflation, but at least one portion of the tax relief package is being paid for by congressional Democrats’ $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. A total of $200 billion in COVID rescue dollars is going toward Florida’s onemonth gas holiday that starts in October. Through the measure, drivers and motorcyclists will save 25 cents per gallon.
• Over the year, there will be tax breaks on a variety of goods, including children’s books, back-to-school shopping, mobile homes, diapers, and infant clothing, disaster supplies during hurricane season, and various entertainment during the “Freedom Week” tax holiday around the Fourth of July.
Source: Business Insider, May 6, 2022 Space launches soar in Florida
• With at least five more launches expected this month, Space Florida President, and CEO Frank DiBello said that local launch facilities might handle more than 40 additional launches before the end of 2022 from private companies, NASA, and the U.S. Space Force. • Since the start of 2022, launches from licensed sites tied to Space Florida, the state’s aerospace arm, have put about 250 tons of equipment and supplies into space. Last year, Space Florida facilities accounted for about 370 tons of materials put into space, including 1,730 satellites.
• Space Florida is also looking to focus on capturing a piece of an emerging market that services the space economy. “We’re really looking at this industry,” DiBello said. “Forecasts are for this to be between $15 (billion) and $20 billion (in economic impact) by the end of the decade. And that’s not insignificant.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times, May 6, 2022
FAA, airlines will meet to discuss flight disruptions in Florida as travel booms • The Federal Aviation Administration will meet with major U.S. airline staff next month to discuss ways to improve the flow of air traffic to and from tourism hotspot Florida, where weather delays earlier this month disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers.
• Airlines are flying more to the Sunshine State than they did in 2019, before the pandemic. Florida logged a record of nearly 118 million domestic visitors last year, according to state data. • Air travel in the state is also facing challenges such as increased military operations and more space launches, all while the pandemic slowed air traffic controller training. Some airlines are paring their schedules, aiming to improve reliability as they build in more slack in their operations.
Source: NBC News, April 26, 2022
DeSantis signs state budget with some items vetoed
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the state’s budget, which includes $169 million in tax relief and excludes a $1.5 billion in spending he vetoed, into law. • Among the largest cuts affecting voters is a $7 million cut for funds that would have gone to the Moffitt Cancer campus in Pasco County. Additionally, $35 million was cut from the budget that would have developed a new sports center that could have been a training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays. • The budget included the allocation of $453.1 million in additional pay increases for state employees, as well as education funding in the form of $600 million to continue to raise the base pay of teachers, a $1.4 billion boost to early childhood education and a one-time payment of $1,000 for full-time teachers and principals. $210 million will also be directed toward improving school safety.
Source: Spectrum News 13, June 2, 2022
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Florida & Metro Forecast / Spring 2022
