Policy & Advocacy

The Chamber is fighting to protect South Florida communities from rising sea levels. In addition to initiatives at home, the Chamber led a delegation of 75 to Washington, D.C. to push for bi-partisan engagement in the Climate Solutions Caucus and a commissioned study by the Army Corps of Engineers itemizing and prioritizing local infrastructure improvement projects relating to sea level rise.

The Chamber has an active voice in land usage, financing, taxation, zoning regulations and environmental concerns surrounding these projects. We work with realtors, brokers, developers, architects, attorneys, lenders, accountants and consultants to ensure their voices are heard.

The South Florida Partnership is exploring a merger that would help create a better regional voice and provide more benefits for members and to address key issues from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach County.

The Chamber actively seeks potential funding options for member business, including crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending alternatives, among others.

An 8,000-foot, $791 million runway that took nearly two and half years to complete is allowing Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Executive Airport to accommodate nearly 425,000 flights annually. Twelve  tunnels now snake under the runway's two bridges to make way for U.S.1, Perimeter Road and the FEC railroad tracks. The south runway is the first phase of an expansion project that aims to ease congestion by adding a second runway and updating terminals. Additional gates, new shopping, dining and bathrooms are also in the works.

Port Everglades is embarking on two critical expansion projects expected to create 7,000 new jobs regionally and 135,000 jobs statewide during the next 15 years. Five new cargo berths will be built in the Southport Turning Notch. Crews are also deepening and widening the port’s navigation channels. Several projects have already been completed, including FLP’s Port Everglades Next Generation Clean Energy Center, which is 35 percent more fuel efficient; an inter-modal container transfer facility, which allows cargo containers to be transferred directly between ships and rail cars; and security upgrades that allow access to the Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center from the port.

Fort Lauderdale is at the epicenter of a rapidly changing transportation system. Voters approved a penny increase in the sales tax for 30-years to pay for transportation enhancements like synchronized traffic lights, improved mass transit, and roadway systems.  The Broward County Commission approved  the Southern Connector portion of our intercity rail corridor which ends near Broward Health Medical Center.  The Chamber has been and continues to advocate for a tunnel solution to cross the New River so the Northern Connecter of what we call Coastal Link will begin.  If the tunnel is economically unfeasible, we support construction of a 55-foot bridge.  The Chamber was at the table in pushing for approval of Brightline high-speed rail which travels from Miami-Dade to Orlando International Airport and beyond.  We are also advocating for the FLL Airport Master Plan which provides for better conveyance of passengers and those dropping and picking up our guests.

The 24 miles of sandy beaches along the Broward County coastline are critical to tourism and our local economy, attracting millions of visitors a year, protecting property and proving habitats for marine wildlife. The Chamber is actively involved in a project that is rebuilding areas of eroded beach and increasing storm protection along the shoreline in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale. To date, approximately 750,000 cubic yards of sand has been distributed along 4.9 miles of shoreline between Hillsboro Inlet and Port Everglades.