The race is on to head off massive unemployment-tax hikes that threaten most Florida businesses at the end of April.
Under a deal struck among Gov. Charlie Crist, Republican legislative leaders and the state's leading business groups, the plan is to delay most of the pain for two years.
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"Fortunately, today, we are about to offer short-term relief," said Rep. Dave Murzin, a Republican from Pensacola who chairs the Economic Development & Community Affairs Policy Council.
The panel began discussing legislation on Wednesday and is expected to take its first vote next week. Crist told reporters before the meeting that he hopes to sign a bill in the first week of the legislative session that begins March 2.
Florida's unemployment zoomed to 11.8 percent in December, four months after the state's fund for laid off workers went broke, triggering an automatic tax increase. The state was forced to borrow $1.1 billion from the federal government to keep the benefits flowing.
Rates vary widely, but each business pays the tax according to a formula based partly on the number of workers it has laid off. If the Legislature does nothing, the minimum rate would jump from $8.40 per employee to $100.30.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business warn that their members, many of whom are facing a more than 1,000 percent tax increase, will be forced to lay off workers if they get socked with the increase all at once.
"The system was never designed to handle an 11.5 percent, 12 percent unemployment rate," said Florida Retail Federation lobbyist Randy Miller.
A bill (PCB 10-01) by Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Jacksonville, would lower the taxable wage base from $8,500 to $7,000 for two years and suspend a threshold in the unemployment fund that automatically triggers increases. Under the plan, employers would see the minimum rate rise to $25.20 per employee this year and $53.90 the next. But it would soar to $192.95 in 2012.
Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral, warned business lobbyists to prepare their members for the next shock.
"All we have now is an opportunity to get the word out," Aubuchon said.
Democrats argue that the problem could be eased if House leaders will change their minds about turning down $444 million in federal stimulus money for unemployment compensation. If the state had taken it last year, the fund would not have been depleted as quickly, they argued. Republicans argued that taking the money would have required the state to cover a larger class of workers who are now ineligible and that business owners would be stuck with higher taxes when the money runs out.
