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Sarasota News Leader September 20, 2013 Page 63 Hines pointed out. "What can we do to tweak Beach has not had any success with its proit to make it work?" gram, either, staff told the County Commission. THE BACKGROUND A memo provided to the County Commission by Jeff Maultsby, director of business and economic development for the county, explains that the Florida Legislature created the EEZ Pilot Program in 2009 "to assist communities in the development of a model to cultivate green economic development, encourage renewable electric energy generation and promote the manufacturing of products that contribute to energy conservation and green jobs." In 2011, the Legislature amended the state law governing the EEZ Pilot Program "to provide that all the statutory incentives and benefits available to Enterprise Zones (EZ)" also be available within an EEZ, the memo points out. To qualify for the state program, the County Commission had to adopt an ordinance on March 31, 2012 defining the EEZ's boundaries, specifying applicable energy-efficiency standards for businesses within the EEZ and determining eligibility criteria for companies Sarasota County and the City of Miami Beach applying for EEZ incentives, the memo conwere selected for the pilot programs. Miami tinues. A map shows the proposed new Economic Energy Zone boundaries. Image courtesy Sarasota County