Rep. Steve Crisafulli Announces Joint Agenda For 2015

By  //  February 2, 2015

Florida's Economy Continues to Improve

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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Earlier this week, Senate President Andy Gardiner and I announced our joint agenda for the 2015 Legislative Session beginning on March 3.

Our Work Plan 2015 agenda presents Five Solutions for a Stronger Florida.

Strengthen our economy by providing tax relief to families and businesses:
Reduce the burden government places on Florida’s families and businesses through broad-based and meaningful tax relief initiatives.

Support the path to economic independence for people with unique abilities by:
• Creating postsecondary designation for programs serving students with disabilities.
• Expanding Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts.
• Promoting employment options for persons with developmental disabilities.
• Creating financial literacy programs to help people with developmental disabilities participate in the economy independently.
• Planning for the implementation of the ABLE program in Florida.
• Establishing a “Unique Abilities Designation” program for Florida businesses who hire workers with disabilities.

Strengthen the health of our waterways and natural resources:

Andy Gardiner
Andy Gardiner

Develop a sustainable, statewide funding and policy strategy to protect our water and natural resources while implementing Amendment 1.

Strengthen our families by promoting adoptions:
Promote adoptions and support forever families by restoring the adoption subsidy program for state and local government employees, codifying a family recognition program, and creating an incentive program for Community Based Care and provider agencies.

ABOVE VIDEO: Rep. Steve Crisafulli, the new House Speaker, is from Merritt Island, a seventh-generation Floridian and a member of a prominent citrus family. A cousin, the late Doyle E. Carlton, served as governor from 1929 to 1933, while one of Crisafulli’s grandfathers, Vassar B. Carlton, was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Crisafulli and his wife, Kristen, have two daughters.

Maintain a school system that provides Florida’s students with a first-rate education that prepares our children for success in college and the workforce by:

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• Increasing K-12 per-student funding.
• Increasing performance funding for universities.
• Supporting Governor Scott’s concept of a rapid response start-up grant program for technical centers that directly link education programs to local workforce needs.
• Expanding career and technical education by increasing opportunities for students to get on-the-job training in high-skill, high-wage areas through apprenticeship programs.

Promote accountability through an independent review and evaluation of federal, state, and local K-12 assessment and evaluation requirements with the following guiding principles:

•Accountability: Maintain a strong accountability system that effectively measures student learning and promotes quality instruction in the classroom.
•Transparency: Increase transparency of accountability requirements so parents, students, teachers, and taxpayers can have clear and consistent information.
•Flexibility: Maximize teacher, principal, and school district flexibility to successfully implement Florida’s accountability system.

While the Work Plan agenda does not represent the entirety of the issues before the Legislature’s consideration, it will be an important part of the Legislative Session.

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I look forward to a successful Session and delivering a completed Work Plan that benefits all Floridians. Florida’s Economy Continues to Improve.

We received the latest jobs numbers last week, and Florida’s economy continued to improve in December, with the creation of 12,700 jobs.

Our state unemployment rate now stands at 5.6%. Between December 2013 and December 2014, our economy added over 230,600 new jobs.

This is great and welcome news, and the continued improvement in our economy shows that our pro-growth economic policies are working for Florida.