| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to state economic development incentives |
| 3 | for the recreational marine industry; creating the |
| 4 | Recreational Marine Business Retention Program within |
| 5 | Enterprise Florida, Inc.; providing goals for the program, |
| 6 | including recruiting new marine businesses, supporting |
| 7 | existing recreational marine businesses in the state, and |
| 8 | promoting the state's recreational marine industry through |
| 9 | various venues; requiring Enterprise Florida, Inc., in |
| 10 | conjunction with the Department of Environmental |
| 11 | Protection, to submit a report to the Legislature |
| 12 | regarding the effect of an expedited permitting process on |
| 13 | the goals of the program; requiring Enterprise Florida, |
| 14 | Inc., to work with the Office of Tourism, Trade, and |
| 15 | Economic Development to provide additional tax incentives |
| 16 | for the recreational marine industry; providing an |
| 17 | effective date. |
| 18 |
|
| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
|
| 21 | Section 1. (1) In order to aid the recreational marine |
| 22 | industry in this state, the Recreational Marine Business |
| 23 | Retention Program is created in Enterprise Florida, Inc., with |
| 24 | the mission of retaining marine industry businesses in this |
| 25 | state, recruiting businesses to establish operations in the |
| 26 | state, and generally supporting the state's recreational marine |
| 27 | industry. In meeting its mission, the program shall: |
| 28 | (a) Recruit boat manufacturers and marine accessory |
| 29 | manufacturers to establish operations in the state; |
| 30 | (b) Support the growth of recreational marine businesses |
| 31 | presently operating in the state; |
| 32 | (c) Promote the state's recreational marine industry at |
| 33 | trade shows and through media advertisements and a website; and |
| 34 | (d) Monitor trends in public marine water access and any |
| 35 | loss or gain of marina and boatyard facilities in the state and |
| 36 | any loss or gain in recreational marine businesses to other |
| 37 | states. The program shall annually submit a report to the |
| 38 | Legislature on its findings regarding such issues. |
| 39 | (2) Enterprise Florida, Inc., in conjunction with the |
| 40 | Department of Environmental Protection shall submit a report to |
| 41 | the Legislature by November 1, 2008, detailing how the |
| 42 | permitting process can be revised to expedite permitting so as |
| 43 | to facilitate the goals of this section. |
| 44 | (3) Enterprise Florida, Inc., shall work with the Office |
| 45 | of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development in the Executive |
| 46 | Office of the Governor to designate the recreational marine |
| 47 | industry as a qualified target industry for purposes of |
| 48 | inclusion in the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program |
| 49 | established in s. 288.106, Florida Statutes, and to adjust the |
| 50 | wage eligibility criteria for inclusion in the program to |
| 51 | encourage increased participation by the recreational marine |
| 52 | industry. |
| 53 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |