U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and a group of Florida lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Rick Scott Thursday urging him to designate communities in Florida facing the greatest amount of economic hardship as “opportunity zones,” to encourage more private investment and economic growth in those areas.
“One thing we should all be able to agree on is that more needs to be done to help expand economic opportunity in the state, particularly in those communities with limited access to affordable healthcare, quality education, and affordable housing,” the lawmakers wrote.
Under the tax code, governors can designate up to 25 percent of eligible low-income communities in each state as opportunity zones—whereby investors can get a tax break if they invest in the area.
The lawmakers went on to highlight areas of the state facing the greatest challenges: “As you know, many parts of Florida have not fared well over the last several years, including many rural areas and communities of color.
Therefore, we ask that you designate areas as opportunities zones based on the amount of economic hardship they face—with special consideration for Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) … areas with a readily retrain-able workforce, economically-depressed rural areas, and other areas that have not benefited from some of the decisions made by state officials in recent years.”
There are over 1,699 low-income community census tracts in Florida, allowing Gov. Scott to designate more than 400 communities.
In addition to Nelson, the letter was signed by Florida Reps. Charlie Crist, Kathy Castor, Val Demings, Alcee Hastings, Al Lawson, Stephanie Murphy, Darren Soto and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
