TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Florida's tourism industry continues to reel from the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, state lawmakers are exploring what relief measures, if any, the legislature could pass to prevent more business closures and layoffs.

Meeting Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic began, members of the Florida Senate's Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development acknowledged the extraordinary headwinds facing the industry — and the legislature itself, given a projected revenue shortfall in excess of $1 billion for the coming fiscal year.

"I think the state has to play a role," Sen. Ed Hooper (R-Clearwater) said in an interview following the meeting. "We have to do it under the restrictions that are in place today. I don't think there's an appetite for a huge tax increase. I don't believe that. But there are things that can be done."

Among the prerogatives the legislature has are waiving the state's business rent tax and suspending collection of corporation renewal fees until 2022.

The impact of any state relief measure would be relatively muted compared to the successive rounds of pandemic relief packages passed by Congress. The latest package extends and expands the Paycheck Protection Program to forestall layoffs.

Still, the fact the legislature hasn't passed any measure of its own is helping drive a collective call to arms.

"I think our job as a state legislature is to get businesses and families back on their feet," said Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton). "So many have suffered in all aspects of our economy, but certainly around the tourism and the hospitality industry."