Dear NUCA of Florida Member ,
Your business needs fewer regulations and less bureaucratic red tape . Our Association needs to support candidates who understand the daily challenge of running a business in today ’ s economic climate . The General Election is only a few months away ! All 120 seats in the Florida House and 20 of the 40 seats in the Florida Senate will be up for grabs this election cycle .
During the 2024 Session , your NUCA of Florida ’ s advocacy team collaborated with Governor DeSantis and state lawmakers to pass several pro-construction bills and defeat harmful legislation including :
Passed HB 705 which prevents local governments from excluding certain contractors from the bidding process , imposing wage and employment conditions on contractors , or mandating specific hiring and training protocols . Passed HB 433 which preempts the regulation of heat illness & injury policies for workers to the State to keep local governments from enacting their own policies that may be duplicative or in conflict with OSHA requirements . HB 433 also prohibits local governments from giving preference in competitive solicitations based on an employer ’ s heat exposure requirements . ( NUCA of Florida worked to help defeat such a local ordinance offered by Miami-Dade County earlier this year .) Passed HB 433 which also preempts local wage and employee benefits ordinances beginning in 2026 when the minimum wage increases to $ 15 an hour and prohibits local governments from using evaluation factors , qualification of bidders or otherwise awarding preferences based on wages or employee benefits . Defeated HB 825 / SB 708 which would have changed the current 2-day timeline for marking underground facilities to a 3-day timeline before excavation could begin and changed the timeline for a positive response from the current 2 days to 3 days . The legislation also added a new violation for failure to notify of a planned excavation start date and time before beginning excavation if the member operator provides timely notice of the existence of a high-priority subsurface installation . Passed SB 770 which expands the Property Assessed Clean Energy Program ( PACE ) program to be used for converting from septic to sewer systems . Passed HB 267 which streamlines the permitting process for construction projects . Passed HB 917 relating to Career & Technical Education ( CTE ) to get students interested in construction trades with hands-on training and develop a statewide CTE education asset map which includes courses offered , budgets , workforce alignment and dual-enrollment opportunities among other areas of CTE education .
NUCA of Florida has a strong voice in Tallahassee due in large part because of our members who actively invest in our Advocacy Fund , and we need to ensure construction-friendly candidates return to office . With your 2024 investment in our fund , our voice — the only voice of the underground utility industry-- will be much stronger up “ on the hill .” We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines — political races are getting more intense by the day . We need industry champions in the statehouse .
We are running out of time to rebuild our war chest , and we need every member to step up and contribute to our Advocacy Fund . It ’ s been said : “ Get into politics or get out of business .” Can I count on you to make an investment in NUCA of Florida ’ s advocacy efforts today , so we ensure you not only stay in business , but rather thrive ?
We are asking every member to give a minimum of $ 250 to our Advocacy Fund , reflective of the 2025 Session ahead . Members who contribute to our President ’ s Club at the $ 1000 level will receive special recognition at our events . Contributing is easy — we have a “ Make an Advocacy Contribution ” button on our webpage at www . nucaflorida . org . You may also mail a check to NUCA of Florida , P . O . Box 1115 , Shalimar , Florida 32579 .
If you have any questions regarding our Advocacy efforts , please contact Kari Hebrank at KHebrank @ carltonfields . com . Thank you in advance for protecting the underground utility construction industry in 2024 .
Sincerely yours ,
Penny Danielecki , President NUCA of Florida