Issues of Interest

SPACE FLORIDA 2022 was a banner year for Florida’s space industry. Over 6,000 jobs were added across 15 companies. The economic impact to the State for these jobs totaled $1 billion. Brevard County and the surrounding area once dominated the space industry job market; today, that number is closer to 40 percent.

ADDITIONAL MARIJUANA LICENSES On December 20th, Florida Department of Health regulators began a process that will allow for the issuance of up to 22 more medical marijuana licenses. The move could double the size of Florida’s medical cannabis industry. A new rule was also passed which increased the cost of the two-year license to operate from $60,000 to more than $1 million.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSE The College Board released a pilot African American Advanced Placement course to select high schools this year. Florida education officials told the Board that Florida would not offer the course without significant changes. After feedback from the pilot schools, some changes to the course structure were made. It is still unknown if Florida will offer the elective course to its high school students.