Good morning Chairman Gardiner and Senators of the Committee.  I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you, and I would like to provide a few remarks as I begin the confirmation process this year. I have now been serving in Governor Scott’s administration for over three years, first in his counsel’s office and for the past fifteen months as the head of the Department of Economic Opportunity.  I feel very fortunate to have had these opportunities in public service, and am especially grateful for the chance to implement the sound economic policies that Governor Scott and this Legislature have enacted over the last three years.

By all measures, Florida’s economy is resurgent and our economic turnaround is leading the nation.  Our unemployment rate has fallen from a recession high of 11.4 percent to 6.3 percent, tied for the largest decline in the nation.  The private sector in Florida has added 462,000 jobs since December 2010.  Job demand is at a record high, with 278,000 openings as of last month.  Tourism, and the revenue that comes with it, is also at record levels, with nearly 95 million visitors in 2013. Our state is competing for business relocations and expansions that, just a few short years ago, would have been unthinkable.  Our partner, Enterprise Florida, has been recognized by national publications for its recent efforts in economic development, and our state as a whole is consistently recognized as one of the most business-friendly in the nation.

These positive developments are not happening by chance.  Policy matters.  By keeping taxes low and regulation sensible, Governor Scott and this Legislature have created the pro-growth environment that has fostered Florida’s nation-leading economic turnaround.  To work these past fifteen months at the agency that is at the forefront of implementing many of these policies has been fulfilling and rewarding.

When I appeared before the Senate last year for confirmation, I pledged that transparency, accountability, and efficiency would be the watchwords of my tenure at DEO.  I also noted that the agency was still in its infancy, and that I would endeavor to realize the vision of the 2011 legislation that created DEO out of three legacy agencies.  A year later, I am pleased to report the progress we have made on several fronts.

As a general matter, I can report that the three distinct agencies that originally formed DEO have melded into a single culture pursuing a unified mission.  Through a variety of agency-wide initiatives, we have strengthened the ties between economic, community, and workforce programs, while also streamlining agency operations and advancing employee morale and development.

For example, in the last year our Division of Finance and Administration has standardized financial monitoring across the agency, so that all employees engaged in this process, regardless of division, will be governed by the same qualifications, training, and process requirements. In each of DEO’s programmatic divisions there is also much progress to report.

The Division of Strategic Business Development is charged with coordinating, vetting, and monitoring the State’s economic incentives. Over the past year, the Division has revamped its policies and processes to ensure that taxpayer money is smartly invested and well protected. The Division has implemented an enhanced, standardized, and more effective due diligence process, and has also standardized and augmented clawback requirements and other protections of taxpayer investments.  At the same time, the Division has greatly improved its working relationship with Enterprise Florida so that businesses and consultants encounter a streamlined and efficient process.

The Division has also focused on increasing transparency in economic development.  On October 1 of last year, we launched the enhanced incentives portal, a first-of-its kind website that allows the public to view and research comprehensive information on all non-confidential incentive deals with an executed contract.

The Division has also advanced its long-term planning role by releasing the Florida Strategic Plan for Economic Development, the culmination of eighteen months of collaboration with partners around the state.  This plan is helping to guide the work of all state agencies, as well as other regional and local partners across Florida.

The Division of Community Development is charged with assisting local governments and communities with growth management and development.  In the past year, the Division has undertaken a comprehensive review of many of its grant and loan programs to ensure efficacy, accountability, and transparency.  The Division has revised contracts, tightened up auditing procedures, and reconciled accounts that had longstanding problems.

In addition to the $1.2 million in planning grants the Division has awarded in the last year, it has also recently launched the Competitive Florida initiative, a new program that will provide rural communities technical assistance and targeted grants for asset mapping, strategic planning, and economic development.

The Division has also improved a website that allows for greater transparency in growth management.  The “Florida Papers” website features digitized versions of documents related to comprehensive planning, Developments of Regional Impact, and Areas of Critical State Concern.

Last but not least, the Division of Workforce Services has also made great strides in the last year.  With respect to workforce development, the Division, in cooperation with our partner, CareerSource Florida, developed and implemented a new, more rigorous training program for statewide workforce development staff.  This training ensures that staff is well-versed in all aspects of the workforce system, customer service, job-search skills, and case management.

The Division has also advanced two initiatives to ensure that Floridians can use economic data to shape their education and career decisions.  In December, in partnership with the Department of Education, we published the Economic Security Report, which allows students and parents to make informed choices, by reporting college and university educational outcomes as measured by employment, earnings, continuing education, debt, and receipt of public assistance.

Likewise, our Bureau of Labor Market Statistics is also continuing to perfect our Occupational Supply & Demand system, a web-based tool that compares total labor supply against short- and long-term labor demands.  This powerful tool allows job seekers, employers, economic development officials, and policymakers to calibrate to a changing job market.  In fact, DEO has been nationally recognized multiple times for the development and use of this system, which is more advanced than any other similar system nationwide.

The Division has also spent the last year focusing on workforce populations that deserve special attention.  We have partnered with Attorney General Bondi and other state agencies to highlight and combat the scourge of human trafficking, especially in the agricultural and migrant workforce.

We have partnered with the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Military Affairs, and the Florida National Guard to ensure that economic opportunities are available for veterans and military families.  And we are partnering with the Governor’s Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities to develop a web portal featuring resources and opportunities for this population.

With respect to Reemployment Assistance, our launch of the new Connect computer system has been well publicized.  Before I turn to that, however, I want to note two important developments.  First, last year DEO paid back $3.5 billion in debt that had been incurred from the federal government to keep unemployment insurance afloat during the economic downturn.  This debt reduction is a reflection of the resiliency of our economy and the effective policies this Legislature has put in place.

Second, we launched the Treasury Offset Program to recover debts owed to the RA unit.  To date, this program has recovered nearly $20 million in funds.

As for Connect, in October 2013 the RA unit launched this multi-year redesign of its thirty-year-old, obsolete computer system.  My last few presentations to the Senate have focused on the technical problems that surrounded the launch and some claimant delays that resulted, but I am pleased to report that we have turned the corner and claimant service in the RA unit is now better than legacy performance.

For example, in our adjudication unit, we now have less than 4,000 active cases, a number far below the nearly 50,000 active cases present in the legacy system just before the launch of Connect.  The age of those cases has also been significantly reduced.  These numbers will fluctuate with economic, policy, and staff changes, but the bottom line is that we have we resolved the delays caused by Connect’s launch and even worked through the caseload carried in the legacy system.

Our Contact Center is also seeing significantly reduced call volume.  For example, in the first week of October 2013, under the legacy system, the Contact Center received nearly 165,000 total calls from 65,000 unique numbers.  During the first two months of launch, call volume increased far beyond those measures and we struggled to assist all callers.  For the last five weeks, however, call volume has sharply declined as agency performance has improved, and we have been able to answer all unique callers to the Contact Center.  For example, last week we received 46,500 total calls from 28,000 unique numbers, and we had 43,600 live customer interactions.  In other words, Contact Center performance is now at a level better than any in recent memory, and is well exceeding legacy performance just prior to the launch of Connect.

These performance improvements have resulted from technical fixes to the system, policy changes at the agency, increased staff, improved management practices, and an improving economy with fewer overall claimants.  From a technical standpoint, on February 28, DEO was able to certify that our vendor had fixed all known high-impact defects. Remaining defects are being addressed during the normal course of the warranty period.

In sum, while the launch of Connect was not as smooth as we had hoped for, the agency has been able to recover in a few months, and service from a claimant perspective is surpassing legacy performance. Additional challenges may, of course, arise, but we will do what is necessary to serve Floridians, fix problems, and optimize performance.

In closing, then, I think it is fair to say the Department has had a very busy year, with many accomplishments.  Like any large and complex organization, we faced our share of challenges.  But I would submit that the measure of leadership is not whether the challenges come, but how the agency reacts when they inevitably do come.  I am proud of the staff at DEO and all of our accomplishments these past fifteen months.  I am grateful for their service and support, as my record is a reflection of their hard work.  I am also grateful to Governor Scott for his confidence in me and my team.  Being a part of his administration and the economic turnaround he has helped foster is one of the great professional privileges of my life.

I thank the Committee for considering my nomination and I welcome any questions you may have.