Rep. Steve Crisafulli Legislative Update

By  //  October 1, 2014

Cost of Florida Prepaid College Plans to Drop

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TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a law to hold down costs for families participating in the Florida Prepaid College Program. 

FLORIDA-PREPAID-COLLEGE-BOARD-180These changes have already resulted in $200 million in refunds for families currently participating in the program.

Under the changes made by the Legislature this year, the monthly cost of a Prepaid plan for a newborn will drop from $350 to $173. The cost of a 2+2 plan, which pays for two years of community college and two years at university will fall from $235 to $136 per month.

The changes made to the Prepaid College Program will allow more families to take advantage of this great program and responsibly save for their children’s education at a more affordable rate.

Reduction in Property Insurance Costs Coming in 2015

citizens_logoThis month, the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) Board of Governors voted to eliminate the 1% emergency storm assessment imposed on homeowners’ policies effective July 1, 2015. This assessment was imposed to help cover losses from the hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 and 2005, and had originally been slated to continue until June 30, 2017.

During 2015, two emergency assessments will now be eliminated for Florida property insurance policies. On January 1, 2015, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) emergency assessment of 1.3 % will be eliminated. On July 1, 2015, the Citizens emergency storm assessment of 1% will be eliminated. The elimination of these assessments will save standard multi-peril homeowner policyholders approximately $50 per year.

In addition to these savings for all Florida property insurance policies, standard multi-peril homeowners’ policies covered by Citizens will also experience a statewide average premium rate reduction of 6.5% during 2015. This rate reduction will save typical Citizens policyholders an average of approximately $166 in 2015.

Protecting Florida’s Kids From Identity Theft

Did you know that more than 50,000 children in Florida are victims of identity theft each year? A new law in Florida hopes to change that and keep your child safe from this growing threat.

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Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam this year worked with the Legislature to pass the Keeping I.D. Safe (KIDS) Act, which allows parents to set up credit records for their children and freeze them, effectively blocking thieves from using a child’s personal information to open a credit card, mortgage or other financial account.

I am so proud to have voted for this bill to become law, and I want you to know how to protect your children.

The new law requires consumer reporting agencies to establish and freeze a credit record for a minor upon request by the parent or guardian. Parents in Florida can now ensure their child’s identity and financial information is safe from criminals. Every parent who takes the time to protect a child means one less victim of identity theft.

A new website provides information on the law and gives parents tips on how to protect their child’s personal identification. It also explains what to do if your child’s identity has been compromised.

Embraer Bringing More Jobs to Brevard

embraer-logo-600Embraer S.A. unveiled its $24.2 million, 75,436-square-foot Engineering and Technology Center USA to the community this month, delivering on the company’s commitment to expand its footprint in Brevard County.

This state-of-the-art facility increases Embraer’s scope and depth of engineering capacity through 3D Computer Aided Design, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Modeling, 3D Virtual Reality Center, prototype capabilities and sophisticated laboratories and other test equipment.

The company is expected to hire 200 employees by 2016 at an average salary of $70,000 per year in such specialties as Mechanical and Electrical Systems Engineers, Interior Design Engineers, Structural Engineers and Certification Engineers.