Florida Senate - 2017                                     SB 636
       
       
        
       By Senator Clemens
       
       31-00627-17                                            2017636__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to income inequality; providing a
    3         short title; requiring the Office of Program Policy
    4         Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct a
    5         study to identify the legislative actions and funding
    6         necessary to achieve specified goals; specifying
    7         actions that may be included in the study; requiring
    8         the office to submit a report to the Legislature by a
    9         certain date; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Income Inequality
   14  Study Act.”
   15         Section 2. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   16  Government Accountability shall:
   17         (1) Conduct a study to identify the actions the Legislature
   18  may take regarding income inequality and the funding necessary
   19  to support these actions, including, but not limited to,
   20  reinstating the intangibles tax, revising the corporate income
   21  tax, and making the sales tax less regressive, to achieve the
   22  following goals:
   23         (a) Reduce income disparity to the 1970 level.
   24         (b) Strengthen the prevention, identification, and
   25  prosecution of identity theft.
   26         (c) Strengthen the prevention, identification, and
   27  prosecution of consumer fraud, including, but not limited to,
   28  mortgage fraud.
   29         (d) Provide a level of funding to public education equal to
   30  the national average level of funding per student in grades K-12
   31  and in higher education.
   32         (e) Provide a level of funding for reemployment assistance
   33  which meets the national average level for unemployment
   34  compensation.
   35         (f) Provide a level of funding which meets the national
   36  average level of funding for early childhood education.
   37         (g) Determine the incremental yearly increases needed to
   38  establish the state minimum wage as a livable wage over a 5-year
   39  period as it relates to a single person, to one wage earner in a
   40  family of two consisting of one adult and one child, and to a
   41  family of three consisting of one adult and two children.
   42         (2) Submit a report of its findings and determinations to
   43  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   44  Representatives by November 1, 2017.
   45         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.