Ken Pruitt - Committee For A Sustainable Treasure Coast and The "Research Coast"

Committee For A Sustainable Treasure Coast and The "Research Coast"

On March 30, 2004, Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order No. 04-61 creating the Committee for a Sustainable Treasure Coast, Pruitt’s proposed 37-member, three-county regional commission designed to increase cooperation and coordination between St. Lucie, Martin, and Indian River counties. The committee’s main objective was to provide local governments with the tools to plan for and create incentives for responsible and sustainable growth on the Treasure Coast of Florida. A final report was adopted in late September 2005 and delivered to the Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President.

The following legislative session in 2006, Senator Pruitt was a fervent supporter of legislation introduced and passed by Senator Mike Fasano creating Florida’s Innovation Incentive Program (CS/CS/2728–2006). This economic development initiative provides resources for the recruitment or expansion of major research and development entities and innovation businesses in Florida. With the groundwork already laid by the CSTC, Pruitt and a motivated group of local leaders, both public and private, were able to attract the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies to Port St. Lucie to set up an east coast operation. Two years later, in April 2008, the Innovative Incentive Fund also helped bring the Oregon Health and Science University Vaccine Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) to the area. The development of this biotech cluster, in addition to the cluster including the Scripps Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute in Jupiter, Florida, has allowed the area to become known as Florida’s “Research Coast,” a designation first given by Senator Ken Pruitt.