Last week, the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) released its 2023 Voting Records and announced its 2023 Champions for Business award recipients.
AIF’s Voting Records is the definitive legislative scorecard for the business community that tabulates the voting conduct of each member of the Florida Legislature during the 2023 Legislative Session. Scores are based on committee, amendment and floor votes cast on bills that were advocated, promoted or opposed by AIF, with every bill and vote carrying equal weight. By reporting on the 3,747 votes cast by legislators on 42 bills, this publication embodies the most exhaustive and complete record of the Legislature’s collective approach to the concerns of Florida’s employers.
“Each legislative session, AIF works tirelessly, day in and day out, to advocate on behalf of Florida’s business community and ensure lawmakers understand the impact that proposed legislation would have on employers throughout our state,” said AIF President and CEO Brewster Bevis. “We track everything – bills, amendments, votes – and we’re committed to keeping the business community informed of what happens in Tallahassee. That’s why each year for the last 49 years AIF has compiled its Voting Records report, to provide businesses with a thorough review of how lawmakers voted on the issues that matter to them and let them know who their greatest advocates are.”
AIF Vice President of Governmental Affairs Adam Basford added, “Florida’s business community saw some significant victories this legislative session, from transformative tort reform legislation that will help end lawsuit abuse to a comprehensive workforce housing package that will help Floridians live where they work. But not every bill passed will have a positive impact on our state’s job creators, so we will continue to work with our members and legislators to hopefully continue to improve the business landscape in Florida. This is also why AIF’s Voting Records report is so important. It takes a complete look at every relevant bill filed and every vote cast to provide a full picture of where every lawmaker stands on the issues that really matter to the business community.”
AIF’s 2023 Voting Records report is available in full here. The Voting Records Database, which includes over 230,000 votes, more than 2,400 bills, and over 900 legislators from the last nearly 50 years, is available at AIF.com/VotingRecords.
(link “here” to http://aif.com/votingrecords/publication/2023-vr-mini.pdf)
Along with its Voting Records report, AIF also names its Champions for Business every year since 2003, which recognizes the elected officials who provided strong leadership in advancing key legislation and has taken risks for their beliefs in the success of Florida’s business community.
“AIF’s Champions for Business went above and beyond this session and took an active role to show their support for the business community in Florida,” said Bevis. “These lawmakers served as our greatest advocates and have worked to defend free enterprise and economic prosperity time and time again. We are proud to call them our champions and are grateful to have them on our side in the Florida Legislature.”
For the 2023 Legislative Session, AIF awarded the following elected leaders with the Champions for Business distinction:
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo for her impeccable leadership during the 2023 Legislative Session, including playing an essential part in passing a historic tort reform bill, as well as spearheading efforts to increase access to affordable workforce housing. President Passidomo also worked closely with AIF to promote business-friendly solutions to several bills that pose significant challenges.
House Speaker Paul Renner for his bold leadership that helped pass one of the most monumental civil justice reform bills in history that will finally begin to put an end to lawsuit abuse in Florida.
House Judiciary Chairman Representative Tommy Gregory for his dedication to reshaping the legal climate in Florida by spearheading the revolutionary tort reform law, HB 837. As the bill sponsor, Chairman Gregory faced fierce opposition from the powerful trial bar, yet, instead of watering down the bill through the committee process, he pushed to provide even stronger protections for businesses who are at risk of frivolous litigation.
Senator Travis Hutson for his role in passing the Senate’s tort reform package during the 2023 Legislative Session. Senator Hutson made a concerted effort to work with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the reforms passed were meaningful and had a lasting impact on businesses and consumers.
Senator Linda Stewart for her willingness to cross party lines and be the only Democratic Senator to vote for the sweeping tort reform bill. She also sponsored a bill that will significantly cut back on the amount of litigation in the auto glass industry.
Representative Tom Fabricio for his stellar work as prime co-sponsor of HB 837 that will help put an end to lawsuit abuse in the Sunshine State. Rep. Fabricio also sponsored HB 761 that clarifies the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act to prevent frivolous litigation when businesses call or text customers for legitimate reasons.
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