By JOHN KENNEDY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Feb. 2, 2010 -- As Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican leaders rally around a demand from business groups to delay a steep hike in the unemployment tax, Democratic lawmakers are pressuring for more action to directly help the 1.1 million Floridians out-of-work.

The plan to postpone what for some businesses could prove a twelvefold increase in their unemployment tax will get its first review Wednesday in the House Economic Development and Community Affairs Council, with Democrats expected to challenge Republican leaders for so far offering little to help the state’s jobless.

“You’ve got to remember, unemployed workers are workers, people who are used to working for a living,” said Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach. “If you can get money their way, they’re going to spend it in stores and help get this economy going again.”

Rader is sponsoring legislation (HB 741) for the second straight year that would revamp the state’s unemployment compensation system to cover a larger pool of workers. Thirty-four states have adopted the so-called alternative base period system, including 17 states last year when extra federal stimulus cash was put on the table.

Business groups now calling for a delay in the unemployment tax increase oppose changing the current system, warning it will cost businesses more money. But of the 1.1 million Floridians out-of-work, only 730,497 were receiving unemployment benefits – capped at $300 weekly – with the remainder either ineligible or having been out of work so long that their benefits expired.

Federal extensions to the 26 weeks of benefits paid in Florida have allowed payments to continue for some unemployed Floridians for as long as 79 weeks, according to the state’s Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Republican lawmakers generally oppose the alternative base proposal – which, if adopted, could bring the state another $444.3 million in economic stimulus money.

Many lawmakers from both parties support the tax delay sought by businesses. But Democrats say the Obama administration may also demand that more be done for workers before they accept Florida’s proposal to keep borrowed federal dollars flowing into the state’s bankrupt unemployment compensation trust fund.

“I think most of us agree that you don’t want to increase taxes in the middle of a recession,” said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota. “But I think the feds may demand that we do something to modernize our unemployment system.”

With state unemployment at its highest level in 35 years, Crist has recommended $293.7 million in business and industrial tax breaks and incentives – a total that climbs to $345.8 million when a 10-day sales-tax holiday on back-to-school purchases sought by retailers is included.

To Continue Reading this Article, Click Here