Your Voice, Your Future
Advocacy Newsletter - July 3, 2025
| | What's Happening in Advocacy | | |
Stay informed with our advocacy newsletter! Get updates on key local, state, and federal issues, upcoming events, valuable resources, and ways to take action. Learn about policy changes, and discover opportunities to engage with your community. Stay connected, stay empowered, and make a difference.
Together, we’re building a stronger voice for the business community!
| | Thank you to the members of our Volusia County State Delegation for joining us at our Annual Legislative Welcome back Breakfast. | |  | From left to right: Sen. Tom Leek, Daytona Regional Chamber President & CEO Nancy Keefer, Daytona Regional Chamber Board Chair Michael Sznapstajler, Rep. Chase Tramont, Sen. Tom Wright, Rep. Bill Partington, and Rep. Richard Gentry. | | | Thank you to our 2025 Eggs & Issues series sponsor AdventHealth for partnering with us. | | | A special congratulations to our President & CEO, Nancy Keefer, who was honored with a prestigious award from the Volusia League of Cities and received a heartfelt tribute from Rep. Chase Tramont’s office. A well-deserved recognition for outstanding leadership and service to our community. | | | Inside The Issues - Local | |
Impact Fee Workshop Recap
On Tuesday, June 10th and Thursday, June 12th, the City of Daytona Beach hosted public workshops to discuss proposed updates to the city’s municipal impact fees. This workshop marked the second of two required public sessions aimed at engaging the community and ensuring transparency in the decision-making process.
Purpose of the Workshop
The workshop was an informational session, intended to:
- Explain increases to impact fees across several service areas, including police, fire, parks & recreation, mobility, and general government.
- Satisfy statutory public-input requirements, as outlined by Florida law, which mandates public workshops when fee increases exceed standard thresholds.
- Prepare the groundwork for the City Commission’s upcoming consideration and vote on the ordinance.
What Comes Next?
The Chamber continues to stay actively engaged as the City of Daytona Beach considers significant increases to municipal impact fees.
While we are not opposed to impact fee increases in principle, we have expressed concerns about the scale of the proposed increases, particularly when combined with the recently adopted linkage fees. These compounded costs could have unintended consequences for development and business growth.
The Chamber remains actively engaged in the conversation and is not standing on the sidelines. We are meeting directly with city officials to amplify the concerns of our members and key stakeholders, including VCARD, the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors, and the Volusia Building Industry Association. We are advocating for a more balanced, phased-in approach to impact fees, one that responsibly addresses infrastructure needs without placing an undue burden on local employers, home buyers, or future investment.
| | Inside The Issues - State | |
2025 Legislative Session Recap
SB 180 – Emergency Response & Land‑Use Moratorium Preemption
What it does: Strengthens statewide emergency response protocols and accelerates recovery efforts post-hurricane. Critically, it prohibits local governments from imposing building moratoriums or zoning changes for one year after a declared hurricane, even if enacted retroactively
State Budget & Tax Package
SFY 2025–26 General Appropriations Act:
- $115 billion state budget (2% decrease from prior year)
- Invests heavily in healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
- Includes major tax relief through HB 7031: abolishes business rent tax, repeals aviation fuel tax, makes several sales-tax exemptions permanent, and establishes new holidays
- Boosts funding available for regional healthcare and school districts.
- Local businesses and tourism (critical to Volusia’s economy) receive relief through tax cuts.
Impact on Volusia County
- You can now use Tourism Development Tax (TDT) to support lifeguard programs at the beach, an essential service for safety and tourism.
- Existing tourism promotion efforts remain fully funded and unaffected by tax-shift threats.
- The use of TDT funds for infrastructure funding is now expanded to include "fiscally constrained counties", which previously could not use TDT for public facilities
- Tourist Development Councils stay in place to oversee how dollars are spent.
| | | | Inside The Issues - Federal | |
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H.R. 1 - Passed by the Senate, awaiting final vote by Congress. Seeks to deliver tax reforms aimed at supporting small businesses and economic growth.
Click Here to learn More
H.R. 1109, the Litigation Transparency Act - The bill seeks to address the growing practice of third-party litigation funding, where investors finance lawsuits in exchange for a portion of any potential settlement or award.Proponents argue that such arrangements can lead to conflicts of interest and may influence litigation strategies.By mandating the disclosure of these financial interests, the legislation aims to promote transparency and integrity within the civil justice system.
Click Here to learn More
Related Articles:
| | | | We actively represented the interests of the business community through a range of advocacy efforts, including presenting comments before the Volusia County Council in opposition to a proposed countywide moratorium and advocating at a Daytona Beach City stakeholder meeting on linkage fees. We also participated in the Florida Chamber Legislative Fly-in, further engaging in statewide policy discussions. In addition, we signed on in support of several coalition letters, including: urging Congress to permanently extend pro-growth tax reforms and another backing the Third-Party Litigation Coalition, and urging the preservation of the federal deduction for state and local business taxes (B-SALT). We also successfully championed the preservation of the Tourism Development Tax (TDT), ensuring these critical funds remain dedicated to supporting local tourism, economic development, and destination marketing efforts. | | |
Our Director of Advocacy, David Robinson, proudly completed his first year at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Southeast Institute for Organization Management (IOM). The IOM is a premier professional development program for chamber, association, and nonprofit leaders, offering in-depth training in advocacy, membership development, strategic planning, and organizational leadership.
"I'm honored to have completed my first year at the U.S. Chamber's Southeast IOM. This experience has already expanded my perspective as a chamber professional, and I'm proud to be one step closer to earning my IOM certificate." - David Robinson, Daytona Regional Chamber's Director of Advocacy
| | | Our Cornerstone Committee convenes monthly to collaborate on strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening advocacy efforts for the business community. | | | |
Join Us for the 2025 Intercity Trip to Charleston, SC
August 25–27, 2025
Explore innovative solutions and ideas on affordable housing, resiliency, and tourism with fellow community and business leaders during our upcoming Intercity Trip to Charleston, SC. This is a unique opportunity to learn from one of the Southeast's most dynamic cities while building valuable connections.
Dates: August 25–27, 2025
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Topics: Affordable Housing | Resiliency | Tourism
Spots are limited to 25 participants
If you're interested in attending, please reach out to David Robinson at david@daytonachamber.com to reserve your spot today!
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