Pensacola Business Radio

Pensacola Business Radio - Legislative Update Episode- 12.22.15 - Guests: Todd Thomson / Executive Director of Public Affairs

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Todd Thomson/ Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce

Executive Director of Public Affairs

Todd Thomson is the Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce.  Todd has over 20 years of experience in Florida government and politics including serving as staff director for the redistricting committee in the Florida House of Representatives during the 2002 redistricting cycle.  Todd Thomson has also has consulted on legislative campaigns on the federal, state and local levels as well as lobbying for a number of business entities.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Dec. 9, 2015 – The Greater Pensacola Chamber – along with the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce and Santa Rosa County Legislative Coalition – held its Legislative Luncheon in front of 250 community, business, state and regional representatives in downtown Pensacola today.

The Greater Pensacola Chamber released its priorities for the 2016 legislative year, which are broken into three categories: Creating a Better Business Environment, Cutting the Cost of Doing Business and Hometown Heroes.

1. To help create a better business environment, the Greater Pensacola Chamber recommends that state and local government officials act diligently when making economic development decisions and to streamline permitting and regulatory processes that sometimes hinder business opportunities. The Chamber also asks the Florida Legislature to be prepared to respond to any adverse judicial decision that might cause workers’ compensation rates in Florida to rise.

2. The Greater Pensacola Chamber endorses the entirety of Governor Rick Scott’s $1 billion tax cut proposal. Specifically, the Chamber calls for a 1 percent cut in the Florida Business Rent Tax, as well as elimination of the Income Tax on Manufacturing and Retail Businesses and the Sales Tax on Manufacturing Machinery and Equipment. The Chamber also fully supports the proposed increase in the amount of income exempt from the Florida Corporate Income Tax from $50,000 to $75,000.

3. To help improve the lives of our hometown heroes, the Greater Pensacola Chamber announces its support for two pieces of pro-veteran legislation. The Chamber urges the passage of HB 269, which would require the Florida Department of Children and Families to establish the Florida Combat Veterans Care Coordination Program. This program would provide combat veterans and their families with behavioral healthcare referral and care coordination services. The Chamber also supports SB 404, which would create the Veterans Employment Small Business Grant Program within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This program would offer small businesses in Florida a one-time grant of $3,000 for each veteran hired, or $5,000 for each disabled veteran hired.

“The Greater Pensacola Chamber supports these common sense proposals that will help grow our local businesses while creating a better quality of life for our hometown heroes,” said Todd Thomson, Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Greater Pensacola Chamber.

For more information about the Greater Pensacola Chamber’s legislative priorities or public affairs, contact Todd Thomson at (850) 438-4081 or tthomson@pensacolachamber.com.

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About the Greater Pensacola Chamber

Founded in 1889, the Greater Pensacola Chamber is driven to create a climate of growth and success, to ensure economic prosperity and to enhance the quality of life in Greater Pensacola. The Pensacola Chamber Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, oversees Leadership Pensacola and completed Vision 2015, a five-year plan for job creation that brought more than 8,000 jobs to the area within three years. These initiatives take a strategic approach to regional growth and community building with the goals of building a healthier, better-educated workforce; continuing to advance the region’s economic positioning; and improving community infrastructure. For additional information, please visitwww.pensacolachamber.com, facebook.com/pensacolachamber or follow @pcolachamber.