Florida Influencers make recommendations to governor and legislature for state’s issues

For the past nine months, the Florida Influencers — 50 state leaders in business, health care, law, home building and the arts — have provided insight and creativity as they offered their views on the issues that matter most to people who live in our state.

The Influencers Series and last week’s Florida Priorities Summit are a project by the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and Bradenton Herald to shed more light than heat on the subjects that matter in the state.

The Influencers identified six core issues that are most important to Florida — health care, education, housing, transportation, the environment and the economy. Last week, they came together for an in-person summit to review and refine the results of surveys they answered throughout the spring, summer and fall, and produced concrete recommendations for Florida’s governor and Legislature.

Each working group featured vigorous debate from Influencers with sometimes competing priorities. Despite their different backgrounds and perspectives, after a few hours around the table with each other, they found consensus. Our hope is that our lawmakers and governor might do the same on the important issues facing Florida.

Here are the final reports:

▪ Health Care: Florida should focus on lower prices and telehealth

▪ Education: Safety and preparation are at the top of the priority list

▪ Housing: Florida must deal with affordable housing crisis

▪ Transportation: A network of regional transit options is key for Florida

▪ Environment: Sea rise becoming more and more daunting for Florida

▪ Economy: Education and tourism are key drivers for Florida