Legislation encourages improvements to Florida's ports to be ready for Panama Canal expansion

March 18, 2010

TALLAHASSEE - A pair of bills aimed at reshaping the state ports to prepare for the expansion of the Panama Canal picked up steam Wednesday, with Gov. Charlie Crist endorsing the package and a financing bill passing its first House committee.

The measures, sponsored in the House by Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, are aimed at streamlining environmental permits for port projects and using tax credits to prompt insurance companies to invest in those projects.

Under the measure, insurance companies would be able to pay the state for credit on future premium tax bills. Those funds, up to $100 million, would be used for port projects; insurers could claim a total of up to $10 million in credits a year.

Supporters say the bills are necessary to prepare for the expansion of the Panama Canal, expected to be completed by 2015.

"We must capitalize on this economic opportunity in Florida," Crist said Wednesday at a press conference called to throw his support behind the bills. "We must build on our strengths and aggressively seek new opportunities for Florida for jobs, jobs, jobs."

Florida's 14 ports account directly and indirectly for 550,000 jobs and $66 billion in economic impact, supporters say. Ray said the average port job pays $54,400 - jobs that other coastal states would be eager to pick off if Florida doesn't prepare for expansion.

"The question is, what are we going to do as the state of Florida, and how are we going to prepare for it?" he asked lawmakers at a committee meeting Wednesday morning. Nearby states like Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama are preparing for the expansion, Ray said. "If we do nothing as the state of Florida, we will lose jobs."

The bill containing the financing mechanism through insurance tax credits passed the House Economic Development Policy Committee on Wednesday. It still has to travel through three committees before heading to the House floor. The other bill, dealing with permitting issues, is being tweaked to try to address concerns by the Department of Environmental Protection, Ray said.

That measure is aimed at speeding the construction of port projects, which now take four to five years to build because of a permitting process that can last more than two years. Ray said that's too long for many companies, which have a two-year window for changing the destination of cargo ships.

Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, is sponsoring the measures in the Senate.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-18/story/legislation_encourages_improvements_to_floridas_ports_to_be_ready_for_pa