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Florida House Speaker Paul Renner gives Capital Tiger Bay Club members a 2024 Session preview

Speaker Renner addressing the Capital Tiger Bay Club
Tom Flanigan
Speaker Renner addressing the Capital Tiger Bay Club

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner believes state lawmakers did the right thing earlier this year when they voted to do away with Enterprise Florida. The public-private partnership was formed in 1996 to promote Florida as a prime business location.

"Because I had meeting after meeting with people who said Florida is far and away the best place for us to do business. Why in God's name do we ask the taxpayers to spend one extra nickel on companies outside our state to come in and compete with companies inside our state?"

Speaking before members of the Capital Tiger Bay Club in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Dec. 5, Renner also gave a brief preview of what he'd like to see in the upcoming lawmaking session that starts in early January. One of his priorities, he said, would be to restrict social media access for young children.

"We need to let kids be kids. We need to let them grow in a place that's safe and where they're well educated and protected from all the people out there that have other ideas for them or want to shape them in a way thay's not age appropriate."

Renner added that lawmakers would likely look for ways to encourage energy companies to make use of all available energy sources and resist efforts by the federal government to concentrate on renewables at the expense of fossil fuels.

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Tom Flanigan has been with WFSU News since 2006, focusing on covering local personalities, issues, and organizations. He began his broadcast career more than 30 years before that and covered news for several radio stations in Florida, Texas, and his home state of Maryland.

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories. here.