by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson told the Rotary Club of Jacksonville Monday that he was glad to be speaking to them because it meant he was able to take a break from the legislative session in Tallahassee.
Wilson said Monday was the 28th day of the 60-day session and he relished the opportunity to speak to Rotarians in the midst of the process.
“You have a special perspective on business and on Florida. Tallahassee is full of conversations about the short term, but Rotarians look at the long term, past next year or the next election,” he said.
Wilson said all of the chamber’s efforts as far as the legislative session is concerned are based on the concept that “free enterprise has created more jobs and wealth than anything else on the planet.”
That philosophy is especially relevant when it comes to the prospect of reforming Florida’s property insurance environment, said Wilson.
“Property insurance is one of the things that keeps me up at night,” he said.
Wilson said when Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state government’s property casualty insurance carrier, was formed, it was viewed as a last resort for homeowners.
Now, he said, it’s the largest property insurance carrier in the state and government control of the industry has led private companies to stop doing business in Florida.
“We got government control instead of attracting capital through the free market,” said Wilson.
Florida has been lucky for the past several years without a hurricane striking the state and causing widespread property damage. Wilson said Florida represents one-third of the hurricane damage risk in the world when it comes to casualty loss.
“If a storm hits and causes $50 billion in damage and the state can’t pay the claims, they’re going to come to me and you,” he said.
Wilson said in that event, homeowners could expect to see an assessment of as much as $8,000 per year added to their insurance premiums for 10-15 years.
He said Citizens Property Insurance is a “horrible policy and the single biggest financial risk facing the state.”
Wilson said the Florida chamber also supports reforming regulations concerning public employee unions. One reason, he said, is because “Florida is the only state in this country where people who take part in a state retirement plan pay nothing into that plan.”
The chamber also supports the “paycheck protection” legislation that would prohibit union dues from being withheld from paychecks of government employees.
“That would give the union members a choice whether they want their dues used for political activities they may not agree with,” said Wilson.
He shared some of the results of a poll conducted by the Florida chamber that were released over the weekend.
Wilson said 32 percent of Floridians polled consider job creation the state’s top priority, while only 8 percent consider balancing the state budget the most important issue.
He also said 72 percent of those polled support balancing the state budget with spending cuts while 22 percent support balancing it with new revenue sources and increased taxes.
Even with all the challenges facing the state, Wilson said he’s optimistic about growth and stability.
“If Florida were a stock, I’d buy as much of it as I could,” he said, citing the state’s lack of long-term debt and growth despite the economy.
“If Florida were a country, we’d have the 29th largest economy in the world,” said Wilson.
Wilson also encouraged citizens to become involved in the legislative session by contacting their representatives, who are surrounded in Tallahassee by more than 2,000 lobbyists representing more than 1,000 associations.
“Don’t be silent. Your legislative delegation needs to hear from you because I guarantee you they’re hearing from the lobbyists,” he said.
356-2466