Education


As a product of a public school myself and a teacher at the college level since 1993, I believe that supporting our schools is one of my highest responsibilities as an elected official. Since I was elected in the fall of 2000, I have visited our public schools over 400 times and have worked hard to understand the concerns of our teachers, students and parents.

Here in the state of Florida, we are doing our best to give the necessary resources to teachers and principals at the local level, as opposed to administrators in Tallahassee, let alone Washington. Since I began my tenure in the Legislature, Brevard County schools have seen a major increase in funding. From the 2001-02 school year to the 2008-09 school year, the district's operating budget grew from $5,681 per student to $7,563 per student. Currently, a class of 20 students receives $151,260 in classroom funds.

Our state has seen steady and constant improvement by students everywhere. I applaud the hard work of our teachers, students and our parents. In Brevard County, students are graduating at a rate of 93% and performing better than ever when compared with their peers around the state and nation. Florida students now rank in the top 10 in performance and lead the nation in overall improvement.

Education is the foundation of opportunity, and as a teacher I am pleased to see the continued, full implementation of Florida's A+ Plan. It is a program that rewards success, promotes accountability, and creates opportunities for parents who lack the financial resources to take control of their kids' education. This has proven to be the best way to shake up the education monopoly and to introduce competition (whether through private, charter, or home schooling), incentives, and consequences into a once failing system. The only way to improve education is to have the energy, determination, and belief to take on a status quo that has too often allowed social promotion, protected ineffective teachers, and given administrators precedence over parents.

The initiative which perhaps best illustrates our state's increasing emphasis on incentives and competition to spur student achievement is the School Recognition Program. Under the School Recognition Program, any public school that earns an "A" grade or improves by one letter grade from the previous year is eligible to receive a special financial award independent of the funds regularly appropriated to that school.

I have had the honor personally to present hundreds of checks to schools in my district. I can attest from firsthand experience the pride which students and faculty alike feel in their accomplishments, the value which students learn to attach to hard work, and the motivation which this recognition affords them to continue to excel.

I support the Corporate Tax Credit (CTC) Scholarship Program, which provides tax incentives to corporations to fund privately administered scholarships for students from low-income families who seek to attend private or out-of-district public schools. It permits poor students whose parents cannot otherwise afford a private school education a way to escape underachieving schools. Last year, 17,000 poor children received privately funded scholarships of $3,500 each. Not only has the CTC program has saved taxpayers $140 million in three years, funding for public education increased over those same years by $2.1 billion.

Despite the excellent progress we have made under the leadership of Governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, more work remains to be done. As a state we must always continue to improve our educational system. We must implement strategies to reduce the administrative burdens on school districts and school district personnel, especially teachers. We must do more to ensure that Florida is able to attract and retain teachers who are qualified and quickly dismiss those who are not. We must adopt some form of teacher testing and peer review to verify the skill and competence of those to whom the education of our children is entrusted. If we continue to work together to improve our education system, we can make sure that our students have the skills they need to find success in an increasingly competitive economy.




Taxes


I believe in low taxes and in tax simplification. As a history professor, I am convinced that much of the prosperity we enjoy today is due to the economic freedom we have experienced throughout our history as a nation. When people keep more of what they earn, they will save, spend, or invest those additional dollars, promoting freedom and responsibility, raising our standard of living, and benefiting the economy for us all.

Lowering taxes is not just a campaign slogan for me. In 2007, as Chairman of the Senate Finance and Tax Committee, I helped author the largest tax cut in Florida history: a comprehensive property tax reduction that will save taxpayers $31.6 billion over five years.

In addition to property tax reform, my record in the Legislature demonstrates a consistent commitment to lower taxes, including the following:

1. Abolition of the Intangibles Tax. In 2005, I sponsored a bill that Governor Bush signed into law to cut the intangibles tax rate in half. In the following year, the Governor signed a bill, which I supported, completely eliminating the intangibles tax. As a tax on the value stocks, bonds, and other savings and investments, this archaic and intrusive tax discouraged and punished economically beneficial conduct.

2. Limits on Taxes and Spending. I continue to promote two constitutional amendments to restrain government's appetite to tax and spend. One would make the enactment of a tax increase more difficult by requiring two-thirds of the Legislature, rather than a simple majority, to approve any increase. This rule would recognize the sanctity of your tax dollars and would require the Legislature to act carefully and deliberately before increasing the tax burden on the public. Currently, I am working on another big idea to make sure government spending is accountable to your needs. Along with Representatives Dean Cannon and Anitere Flores, I have introduced the Smart Cap, which would make sure that government spending never grows faster than a family's ability to pay for it. Under the Smart Cap, government spending at all levels would not be able to grow faster than population plus inflation unless people vote to allow it. This common sense proposal would offer Florida's families and businesses the predictability and flexibility they need to plan for the future. We must restrain government's spending problem to avoid future tax increases.

3. The Freedom Caucus.I am the co-founder of the Freedom Caucus -- a group of legislators dedicated to lower taxes and more freedom. I also work closely with Grover Norquist, chairman of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), to promote tax reduction and to stop wasteful government spending, and was recently awarded ATR's Hero of the Taxpayer Award. I have repeatedly taken the ATR's Taxpayer Protection Pledge to oppose any effort to increase taxes, and I have never voted for a tax increase while in office.

4. Common Sense Tax Reductions. We must reduce the communications services tax. This tax, including its state and local components, taxes each cell phone bill at a rate of up to 18-19 percent. In our mobile and rapid society, cell phones are no longer a luxury, and our tax laws should not penalize Florida's families by imposing exorbitant taxes on their essential means of communication. I have also sponsored a bill to exempt educational materials such as textbooks used by students in our state's colleges and universities. I hope that in the future the Legislature embraces such measures, extending tax relief to activities that should receive every encouragement. These are some of the many steps we can take to keep Florida's economy running strong.




Economy


Florida faces economic challenges, maybe like never before. To help our economy rebound and stay strong into the future, our state must compete to attract and retainbusinesses and investment by creating an economic environment that is friendly to useful enterprises. As a state we should reduce or eliminate unfair taxes and paralyzing regulations. Such taxes tend to discourage the formation of small businesses and to drive aspiring entrepreneurs out of business. I work closely with such groups as the Florida Chamber of Commerce to combat these obstacles to our growth. I am honored to have twice been named a "Champion for Business" by Associated Industries of Florida.

This year, as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Florida's Economy, I traveled the state to speak to families and businesses about how to get our economy moving again. The committee's work has produced a bill called the Community Renewal Act which aims to make it easier for businesses to begin new projects and gives our communities the flexibility to address growth management issues without ignoring the realities of our current economic challenges.

Tort reform is an area of great concern to me. Many of the problems businesses experience today flow from abuses of our legal system. My goal is a system that penalizes frivolous lawsuits and moves towards a system of loser pays. We have already made great strides. In 2006 we put an end to joint-and-several liability, a scheme which unjustly placed the burden of large damage awards on the party with the greatest ability to pay-regardless of that party's degree of fault.

The Legislature can also contribute in a principled and meaningful way to local economic development. One example is enterprise zones. In an enterprise zone, businesses and residents are exempted from many state and local taxes and fees, providing incentives for businesses to relocate to or remain in distressed areas where economic development is most needed. Enterprise zones stimulate activity in underproductive regions of the state in an innovative way. Incentives such as these can encourage business activity in the disadvantaged areas of our state and open a door of hope and opportunity for present and future generations.




Health Care


Health care is one of those issues that affects all of us. To promote quality, affordable health care, our state should dedicate itself to the following important principles:

1. Patients Decide. First and foremost, it is vital that patients and doctors, not administrators, make all medical decisions.

2. Incentives and Competition. The best way to ensure access to high quality, affordable health care is to introduce incentives and competition into our health care system. Competition will naturally give people more options, improve quality, and reduce costs.

3. Research and Innovation. Our state has taken a leading role in the development of biotechnology, and state and local investment in this emerging industry has already yielded dividends. Several large biotech companies are building facilities and attracting scientists to Florida. Florida's colleges and universities have also taken steps to ensure that Florida remains a leader in the health sciences. The University of Florida recently completed a 280,000 square-foot cancer and genetics building and a $39 million nanoscience building, and plans for the University of Central Florida's new medical school are progressing quickly.

4. Tort Reform. Burdensome litigation is one of the causes of the high cost of health insurance and medical services. The Legislature has already enacted measures designed to distinguish frivolous from meritorious medical malpractice claims and to promote the speedy and inexpensive settlement of these claims. For example, in 2003, when physicians were leaving the state, curtailing their practices, or retiring early because of unaffordable increases in medical malpractice premiums, we placed reasonable limits on the uncontrolled and arbitrary award of "pain and suffering" damages, and the cost of medical malpractice premiums has stabilized. We should continue to streamline the litigation of medical malpractice claims to ensure that, while injured victims are compensated, insurance carriers and services providers are not unnecessarily loaded with heavy costs which the consumer will ultimately bear. I also supported the constitutional amendment adopted by voters in 2004 that would revoke the medical licenses of practitioners who are found to have repeatedly committed medical malpractice.

5. Medicaid Reform. A systematic reform of Florida's 35-year old Medicaid program is an urgent priority. We must make the program more cost efficient and adapt it to advancements in medical technology and health services. My wife is a physician, and I see first-hand how the healthcare decisions we make in Tallahassee impact you directly. Despite the downturn in our economy the need and the cost of Medicaid services in our state has never been higher. Estimates for this year indicate that despite a real cut in the total state budget of about 15%, 150,000 more Floridians will be eligible for Medicaid this year, bringing the total to around 2.3 million people. This increase in needed services will raise the cost over half a billion dollars to $15.4 billion, a cost to taxpayers of more than $6,800 per eligible patient. These totals represent the fifth largest total of Medicaid expenditures in the nation and the fourth largest number of eligible patients. In addition to the growing need for services, Washington D.C. has shifted more and more of the costs to Florida. As you may know, the Federal government shares the funding for Medicaid, and they decide how 95% of the money is spent.  Over the past few years, Florida's share of the cost has increased - in 2005 the Federal government was responsible for 59% of the funding, but this year they will only contribute 55%. This increase, coupled with the rising cost of health care, has strained our budget and forced us to look for better ways to administer the program.




Environment and Energy


Few issues are more important to me personally than making the most of the unique opportunity we have to preserve the environment. In 2008, I passed the Clean Oceans Act to protect our ocean and beaches from pollution. The legislation stops day cruises from dumping waste off our coastline. It ensures that one of our most valuable natural resources, our ocean, will be available for future generations to enjoy.

Florida Forever is another program than I have been proud to support. Our state is blessed with abundant natural resources and since the program's inception in 2001, our state has purchased and protected over 500,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land at a cost of almost $2 billion to Florida taxpayers. As a father of three young children, I want to ensure our state's beauty can be enjoyed by future generations, and this program is vital to that vision. I support Florida Forever because the program:

   •  enhances the vitality of endangered animal species,

   •  cultivates water resources and supplies,

   •  creates recreational and educational environmental settings,

   •  preserves archaeological and historical sites, and

   •  increases the amount of forestland and urban greenspaces in every part of Florida.

Locally, the Indian River Lagoon Blueway Project has already preserved nearly 4,000 acres around our community's unique estuary. To view the most recent report of the Florida Forever Program, including the progress of individual environmental projects, please click here.

In challenging economic times, however, our state needs focus first on funding priorities like education, healthcare and keeping violent criminals behind bars. To ensure that we continue to do our best to protect the environment in our state, we also need to look at creative alternatives to preserve environmentally sensitive land. This should include a closer look at the use of incentives for conservation easements, an agreement which allows landowners to agree to keep certain areas undeveloped in exchange for tax exemptions or other benefits. Such agreements are ideal low-cost solutions to preserve open and green spaces without the need for government to purchase and maintain it.

We should also take the initiative to promote the use of cleaner fuel technologies. One promising solution is cellulosic ethanol, which utilizes plant wastes rather than corn to produce more energy with lower emissions than traditional ethanol. With cellulosic ethanol, we can:

   •  reduce our dependence on foreign oil,

   •  reduce the cost of fuel, possibly to $1.30 per gallon,

   •  reduce potentially harmful emissions by 88 percent,

   •  increase economic activity in our agricultural areas, and

   •  provide surplus electricity to our power grids through the combustion of plant residues.

In addition, the Legislature has adopted incentives for the sale of biofuels, the use of renewable energies, including solar power, and the purchase of energy-efficient appliances. We must also encourage the safe use of nuclear power, which emits no combustion byproducts and already produces 15 percent of Florida's energy from three power plants. In 2006, we streamlined the approval process for the construction of nuclear power plants, and we expect to see plans for at least three new sites in the near future.




Crime


Laws are on the books to be enforced, not simply to make us feel good. We should aggressively enforce those which are on the books and prosecute criminals to the full extent of the laws. It is essential that we give our police and our courts the resources and the authority they need to effectively protect our communities. We can do this without taking away liberties from those who obey the laws.

I received an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. Yet I feel little sympathy for criminals who abuse this right to commit violent crimes. For this reason, I support Governor Bush's 10-20-Life initiative. This legislation created a minimum sentence of 10 years for those who commit a violent crime with a gun, 20 years if the criminal fires the gun while committing the crime, and 25 years to life if someone is harmed by a gunshot during the violent crime. I also support the death penalty.

In Florida, we have also made strides to make sure that our violent criminals stay behind bars and serve 85 percent of their sentences. In addition, Florida has instituted a three-strikes rule that ensures that repeat felons stay off our streets. We have also worked hard to protect our children as well. In 2004, I proposed a pilot program to test the electronic monitoring of criminals released on probation, and, in 2005, the Legislature incorporated electronic monitoring into the Jessica Lunsford Act. The Lunsford Act requires electronic monitoring, during post-release supervision, of those convicted of a sexual offense against a child between the ages of 12 and 15, and lifetime electronic tracking if the victim was under 12 and the offender is ever released.




Domestic Security


I believe we can fight terrorism without impairing the liberties we enjoy. Our challenge in the Legislature will be to find and to implement the most innovative and effective methods by which to combat the enemy in this new and unprecedented international war on terrorism.

Soon after the attacks of September 11th, the Legislature empowered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to lead the state's counter-terrorism efforts. Under this law, the Chief of Domestic Security and the Domestic Security Oversight Council coordinate with seven Regional Domestic Security Task Forces (RDSTFs) established within FDLE's seven operational regions, as well as with local law enforcement agencies. This bottom-up approach recognizes the importance of allowing personnel on the spot, rather than legislators or bureaucrats in Tallahassee, to take the lead in forming policy and in developing counter-terrorism measures. Great strides have already been made in gathering and sharing intelligence. We adopted effective systems of early warning and detection, training law enforcement agents, equipping public health facilities, and promoting food safety and border protection. For example, Florida driver's licenses, once among the most frequently counterfeited documents, are now designed for instant authentication.

In 2005, the Legislature took further steps to assist law enforcement in the war on terror. We required our state's water management districts to conduct fingerprint-based background checks on certain employees with regular access to critical infrastructure. We promoted service in the Military Reserves and the Florida National Guard by enacting the Florida Family Readiness Program, which assists the families of service members in their times of need. We also appropriated $2.8 million to reimburse members of the Florida National Guard for premiums deducted from their pay under their life insurance plan. The Legislature must and will continue to be vigilant in opposition to terrorism and in defense of the freedom and security of all Floridians.

In 2007, we took the common sense step of prohibiting the state pension fund from investing in companies that engage in active business operations with the governments of Iran and Sudan, creating a deterrent that discourages private companies from enriching governments known to abet international terror operations.




Abortion and Life Issues


As a pro-life legislator, I work in conjunction with such groups as Pregnancy Resources to promote abstinence. I support the constitutional amendment, approved by a great majority of voters, which requires parental notification. I would support legislation to put an end to abortions occurring after viability, which is the most the Legislature can do under current judicial precedent, and I applaud the U.S. Supreme Court for its recent decision to uphold the ban on partial-birth abortion.

I am very supportive of ethical stem cell research. In Florida, because of ethical concerns, we choose to use government dollars on adult stem cell lines that have shown actual success, rather than on speculative embryonic research. Our state should continue to dedicate itself to the protection of the most vulnerable among us and to promote a culture that defends and cherishes life as the most fundamental of our inalienable rights.




Campaign Finance and Lobbyist Gifts


We have strict laws here in Florida that allow a maximum contribution of $500. We require full disclosure of all contributions and expenditures and prohibit legislators from accepting gifts from lobbyists. To see a list of my campaign contributions and expenditures, please click here.