Dear Friends & Neighbors,

The sixth week of the 2015 Legislative Session has come to a close. Our focus in the House this past week centered on tax cuts and education accountability. We also welcomed two new members to the House, Representatives Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) and Cyndi Stevenson (R-St. Augustine), who joined our Republican majority.

On Thursday, the House passed two important bills included in our Work Plan 2015 joint legislative agenda. The first bill, House Bill 7141, is our #NoTaxIsSafe $690 million tax cut package. This wide-ranging proposal cuts numerous taxes on everything from cell phone and TV bills, to farm taxes, to college textbooks, to property taxes, to taxes on our veterans and deployed military personnel. I believe these tax cuts will provide substantial savings to families and businesses and infuse more money directly into our economy to help create jobs.

The second Work Plan bill we passed, House Bill 7069, addresses legitimate concerns about student testing while maintaining a strong accountability system. I believe these reforms promote quality instruction in the classroom, increase transparency to provide clear and consistent information about student learning, and maximize flexibility for our local school districts.

We are now at a point in Session where subcommittees and committees will meet less, and we will be spending more time on the House floor debating bills and voting on their final passage.

For more frequent updates, please visit www.myfloridahouse.gov and connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

I look forward to continuing to serve our district in Tallahassee and as always, please feel free to contact me or my office whenever we can be of assistance. 

Kind Regards,

JAKE

House Passes $690 Million Dollar Tax Cut Package

The House passed the $690 million “No Tax Is Safe” tax cut package—one of the largest tax cuts of its kind in Florida history. The broad-based tax package cuts numerous taxes on everything from cell phone and TV bills, to college textbooks, to property taxes, to taxes on our veterans and deployed military personnel.

I believe these broad-based tax cuts are one of the best ways to grow Florida’s economy and keep Florida a national leader in job creation. I also believe the broad-based tax cuts will provide substantial savings to families and consumers, putting more money back into the pockets of hard-working Floridians.

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Florida Outpaces National Wage and Income Growth

According to a report released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, average wages and total personal incomes in Florida grew at a higher rate than the national averages in 2014. I think this is great news for Florida’s workers at a time when Florida also continues to outpace the annual job growth rate. In my opinion, this news proves our pro-growth policies of providing significant tax relief and maintaining fiscal responsibility have benefitted Floridians and made our state a better place to work, live, and raise a family.

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House Committee Passes Local Pension Reform

The House State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 341 to reform local retirement plans for our city firefighters and police officers. The bill proposes what I believe are reasonable changes to city firefighter and police officer pension plans to help ensure the plans are stable and well-funded for the future.

By reforming these plans now, I believe we are taking the steps necessary to keep the retirement plans sustainable for our brave public servants and their families. By doing so, I also believe we are protecting the future of our police officers and firefighters who work hard to protect us from harm every day.

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Diplomatic Relations with Cuba Memorial

The House passed Senate Memorial 866, which expresses profound disagreement with the decision of President Obama to restore diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba. The memorial opposes the opening of a consulate or any diplomatic office in this state and urges the continuation of the embargo put in place in 1960.  It is my opinion that the current embargo should remain in place until the dictatorship run by the Castro brothers is no longer in power and the most basic human and civil rights are once again recognized in Cuba.

The Florida Legislature uses memorials to formally petition the President and U.S. Congress to act on a particular subject. As the closest state to Cuba, the President’s actions will likely affect our state more than others, and I hope this memorial sends a message on where we stand on this issue. 

Enjoyed meeting with these students from Hialeah who support school choice

Great discussions with members  of the Florida National Utilities Contractors Association (NUCA)