As a state representative, I worked hard to address the issues that matter most to South Florida. Here are some of the proposals I championed during my eight years in the Florida House of Representatives:

Improving Our Schools

• Promoting Parental Involvement In Education – Learning starts at home, and studies show that kids whose parents are actively involved in their education do better in school. I sponsored legislation that would require school districts to develop plans to encourage parental involvement in their children’s education. (2000-HB 1027)

• Expanded Access To Teacher Training – Along with parental participation, teachers are the most important factor in a child’s success in school, so I proposed having centers in each school district to provide on-going in-service education to keep our teachers’ skills sharp. (1999-HB 1917)

• Early Help For Kids Having Difficulty Learning – I proposed expanding access to remedial education to include kids in grades K-3, instead of waiting until the 4^th grade to help those needing extra attention in subjects like reading, writing and math. (1999-HB 1557)

• Making Sure Schools Keep Up With Growth – When developers build new neighborhoods, we need to make sure there are enough classrooms for the children whose families move in to the new homes. I proposed a bill that would have required local governments to work with school boards to ensure that schools can accommodate new residents. (2003-HB 543)

Protecting Our Children

• Keeping Library Computers Safe For Kids – The Internet can be a wonderful educational resource, but it can also expose our kids to inappropriate material, so I sponsored a bill that would have required our public libraries to equip their public computers with filters that would protect our kids from adult content. (1999-HB 933)

• Cracking Down On Internet Child Pornography – Another abuse of the internet is the transmission of child pornography, or the use of the internet to send inappropriate material to children. I sponsored and passed legislation that made these horrible actions felonies, punishable by strong fines and jail time. (2001-HB 203) BECAME LAW IN 2001

• Helping Children Victimized By Crime – It is traumatic enough when children are victims of violent crime. But often, our criminal justice system can traumatize them all over again when they have to tell their stories over and over again in order to prosecute their attackers. I sponsored and passed legislation that funds Children’s Advocacy Centers – one-stop shops with therapists, police, doctors and prosecutors who are specially trained to help children who are victims of violent crime. The funding for these Centers comes from court costs paid by people who commit violent crimes against children. (2004-HB 515 & 517) BECAME LAW IN 2004

• Stopping The Over-Medication Of Foster Children – In 2001, the Miami Herald published alarming reports about children in the foster care system being given powerful psychotropic medication, in many cases, not to treat a diagnosed mental health condition, but to keep them from “acting up” with their foster families. I sponsored and passed legislation that requires judges, doctors and DCF staff to work together to ensure that foster kids are only given psychotropic medicine to treat a diagnosed condition, and not as “chemical restraints.” (2002-HB 947; 2003-HB 261; 2004-HB 1623; 2005-HB 883) BECAME LAW IN 2005

• Speedy Handling Of Juvenile Detention Cases – It’s heartbreaking when a child goes into the juvenile justice system. But what’s even more heartbreaking is when our over-burdened court system keeps them in limbo for months. That’s why I proposed legislation that would require courts to determine within 20 days whether a child can be safely returned to family, or if they need to remain in custody. (1999-HB 847; 2000-HB 493)

Reforming Florida’s Tax System

• Save Our Homes Portability – Even before the passage of Amendment 1, I was advocating for legislation that would permit homeowners to take a portion of their property tax savings through the Save Our Homes Amendment. (2006-HJR 239)

• Closing Special-Interest Tax Loopholes – There are more than 300 types of goods that are exempt from the sales tax in Florida. Some of these exemptions – like food, medicine and residential rent – are good public policy. But some are just handouts to special interests, and reduce overall sales tax revenue (which can be used to lower our property tax bills). I proposed legislation that would establish a regular review of these exemptions, to make sure that our tax policy reflects our state’s priorities. (2000-HB 619; 2002-HCR 2033; 2003-HCR 211; 2004-HB 171 & HCR 173; 2005-HB 9 & HCR-11; 2006-HB 195 & HCR 8003)

• Making It Easier For Taxpayers To Challenge Assessments – Sometimes, the government over-estimates the amount of sales tax a small business owes, but it can be expensive to challenge that estimate. I sponsored a bill to make the government pay the legal bills when a small business proves that the state has over-charged them for sales taxes. (2000-HB 619)

Preserving Our Environment

• Cleaning Up The Everglades – Before Congress and the State of Florida reached its historic agreement to fund cleaning up the Everglades, I sponsored state legislation that would have provided the funding for clean-up projects. I’m proud that a similar formula to the one used in my bill ultimately wound up being used in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program. (2000-HB 717 & 719)

• Protecting Endangered Sea Turtles – Believe it or not, there’s a brisk underground market for the eggs of endangered sea turtles. State prosecutors weren’t able to arrest people they caught buying or selling the eggs, but could only arrest people they actually caught taking eggs from the turtles’ nests. So I sponsored and passed a bill that would make it illegal to possess, buy or sell the eggs of endangered sea turtles. (2003-HB 399) BECAME LAW IN 2003

• Promoting Energy-Efficient Appliances – One of the best ways to control energy costs is to reduce the amount of energy we use. It saves money, and it also reduces pollution. So I sponsored legislation that would have required Florida companies to phase in energy efficient appliances when they replace old appliances. (2004-HB 1445)

• Rewarding Companies That Have Good Environmental Records – For businesses, the permitting process can be time-consuming and costly. To encourage business to comply with environmental laws, I proposed legislation that would have allowed companies with proven track records of respecting the environment to have speedier and less frequent permit applications. This way, we reward companies that follow the rules, while giving regulators more time to go after companies that don’t. (2001-HB 1627; 2002-HB 609)

Preventing Crime

• School Safety Zones – When parents send their kids to school each day, they have the right to know that their children will be safe on school grounds. So I sponsored and passed legislation that created School Safety Zones, making it a crime for anyone without legitimate business on school grounds to trespass within 500 feet of a school, or to harass children on their way to or from school. (2002-HB 1423) BECAME LAW IN 2002

• Tough Penalties For Crimes At Houses Of Worship – People should feel safe when they come together to pray, whether it’s at a church, synagogue or mosque. When criminals commit acts of violence against people in a house of worship, there ought to be strong consequences. I sponsored the Freedom To Worship Safely Act, which increased penalties for violent crimes committed on the property of a religious institution. (2005-HB 319) BECAME LAW IN 2005

• Enhancing Seaport Security – Florida’s 14 ports are an essential part of our economy. They’re also a vulnerable target for terrorists. I sponsored legislation that would give law enforcement greater authority to examine shipping containers coming through our ports, and additional funding for more personnel and equipment to keep our ports safe. (2006-HB 1635)

Protecting Florida Consumers

• Protecting Condo Owners – When condo assessments go unpaid, the other owners in the building can be left holding the bag. I sponsored legislation that would make it easier for associations to collect unpaid assessments after a unit has gone through foreclosure, by placing more responsibility for the unpaid assessments on the buyer of the foreclosed unit. (2000-HB 1455)

• Privacy Of Cell Telephone Records – For less than $100, there are a number of websites that offer to sell anybody’s cellular and regular telephone records. Usually, the records are obtained by fraud. I sponsored and passed a bill that makes this practice illegal in Florida. (2006-HB 871) BECAME LAW IN 2006

• Truth In Food Labeling – It’s important for consumers to trust the labels on food packages, so they know what they’re eating. I sponsored and passed legislation that penalizes food packaging companies for putting inaccurate or misleading information on food labels. (2002-HB 1657) BECAME LAW IN 2002

• Safety Standards For Converted Dump Trucks – In 2000, a 20-year-old South Florida woman, Jennifer Krug, was killed while jogging when she was hit by a truck that had been converted into a dump truck. I proposed legislation that would establish minimum safety standards and require liability insurance for companies that make converted dump trucks, to make sure that these trucks are safe for our roadways. (2003-HB 957; 2004-HB 453; 2005-HB 653) PASSED LEGISLATURE – VETOED BY GOVERNOR IN 2005

Holding Government Accountable

• Tighter Controls For Government Contracts – Sometimes the private sector can get a job done more efficiently than government. Too often, though, privatization serves only to line the pockets of big business, and doesn’t necessarily save taxpayer money. That’s why I sponsored tougher standards and more frequent review of government contracts to make sure we’re getting a good deal for taxpayers. (2005-HB 711)

• Tougher Ethical Rules For Public Officials & Employees – People place a lot of trust in elected officials and government employees, and they have the right to expect that people in government conduct themselves honorably and ethically. I sponsored and passed a bill that raises standards for state and local government officials and employees, including a ban on political campaigning during state time and a ban on lobbyists serving on the State’s Ethics Commission. (2005-HB 1377; 2006 HB 493) BECAME LAW IN 2006

• Stopping “Gerrymandering” Of Legislative Districts – If you’ve ever looked at a map of Congressional or state legislative districts, it looks like a big mess. That’s because the legislators themselves draw their own lines so that they’ll be easily re-elected. I proposed legislation that would take this power out of the hands of politicians, and have an independent board draw the boundaries, so that the people – not political insiders – choose their representatives. (2001-HB 1247)

Tackling Windstorm Insurance

• Urging Congress To Provide Relief – Florida isn’t the only state that’s hit by national disasters. Floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides, drought and brushfires cause damage in almost every state in the country. The U.S. needs a national catastrophic insurance program that makes coverage for all kinds of natural disasters affordable by spreading the risk among a larger group of consumers. That’s why I sponsored legislation urging Congress to create a catastrophic insurance program, which would reduce the cost of insurance against natural disasters for all Americans – including Floridians’ windstorm insurance. (2005-HM 1371; 2006-HM 1255)

• Lowering Assessments When Citizens Runs Deficit – When storms hit, Citizens Insurance has to pay claims, and in active storm seasons, it can wind up paying out more money in claims than it has in reserves. When that happens, every person in the state who buys insurance (except workers comp and medical malpractice), pays an extra assessment on their premiums to make up for the loss. I sponsored legislation to reduce the amount of these assessments by using the extra sales tax revenue that also comes with active storm seasons to offset these assessments. By lowering these assessments, our insurance premiums would also be reduced. (2006-HB 551)

• Taking The Lead On Comprehensive Insurance Reform – As early as 2001, before the active storm seasons of 2004-2005, I had already begun working on reforming windstorm insurance. I introduced a comprehensive bill that sought to shore up the state run windstorm insurers, secure a federal tax exemption on state run insurers’ reserve funds, extend the moratorium on cancellations by private insurers and make sure insurers’ computer models could be reviewed by state regulators. (2001-HB 291; 2002-HB 107 & HB 109)