Lakeland Chamber Advocacy Committee Conducts Capitol Visits During 2025 Legislative Session

The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Committee, along with community partners from Lakeland Electric and the Bartow Chamber, conducted the Chamber's annual Capitol Visits to meet with legislators to discuss the Chamber's 2025 Legislative Priorities.

Our friends at the Florida Chamber of Commerce kicked off our Capitol Visits with an overview of progress during the legislative session, issues on the watchlist, as well as a presentation of the state of education in Polk County. Attendees then met with all members of our local delegation, including Senate President Ben Albritton, Senator Colleen Burton,  Representative Jennifer Canady, Representative Josie Tomkow, Representative Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, and Representative Jon Albert.

In the Senate... During a meeting in the Senate chamber, President Albritton shared his passion for service and discussed the recent advancement of the Rural Renaissance package (CS/SB 110)--a top priority during his term as Senate President. This package will create a renaissance in rural communities across the state by expanding education, increasing healthcare services, and other investments to improve commerce in those rural areas + double rural GDP.  Senator Colleen Burton, serving this year as Chair of the Health Policy Committee,  spoke to our group about her priorities, including the regulation of hemp and maintaining funding for cancer programs.

In the House... The group had the chance to meet with each member of the Polk delegation in the House of Representatives. Polk County's delegation includes two members of House leadership--Representative Jennifer Canady, serving as Education & Employment Committee Chair, and Representative Josie Tomkow, serving as Health & Human Services Committee Chair; both on the Budget Committee. Representative Jennifer Kincart Jonsson and Representative Jon Albert, Polk County's newest legislators, discussed their priorities and experiences in Tallahassee so far. The group had the opportunity to watch Representative Kincart Jonsson present one of her first bills to the Careers & Workforce Subcommittee.

The group met with Secretary of State Cord Byrd in the State Archives. Secretary Byrd provided an overview of the wide range of programs governed by the Department of State, ranging from elections & corporations to historic preservation & conservation. This meeting ran concurrently with a tour of the State Archives, where Archives Historian Matthew Storey shared a selection of gems from the State's collections, including the only known surviving copy of Florida's 1838 Constitution.