Your state lawmakers and their agendas

The Florida Legislature begins its annual session on Tuesday. The Times asked local senators and representatives to define their main goals for the session, bills they will sponsor and measures they will oppose. Also included in the list below is information on how to contact each lawmaker.

TOM LEE, REPUBLICAN, Senate District 10 (Pasco, Hillsborough)

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: Pass a constitutional amendment that would obligate the Legislature to create a five-year financial planning document as part of the budget process. It's important because . . . we are making very short-term budget decisions without considering the longer term implications of those decisions. The second goal is to pass constitutional amendment reform.

District address: 915 Oakfield Drive, Suite E

Brandon, FL 33509

Phone: (813) 744-8683

Fax: (813) 744-8556

Legislative address: Room 400, Senate Office Building

404 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100

Phone: (850) 487-5072

E-mail: lee.tom@flsenate.gov

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: One is education funding, making sure counties get their fair share of those dollars. The other is the budget, working on a budget that makes sure we fund programs, trying to balance the budget after the constitutional amendments we've passed these past few years. As to specific bills, the first one is dealing with prescription drugs and Medicaid fraud. There is a major problem in Florida with folks who are ripping off the Medicaid program. Also, the Senior Safety Act increases the penalty on individuals who are abusive or steal from our seniors.

I have a bill on prescription validation. It creates a database to make sure individuals who are buying prescriptions are not doctor shopping or falsifying prescriptions. Another is a pilot program that would allow school districts to have a choice in where they purchase their schoolbooks.

WILL OPPOSE: Tax increases. I don't see any on the horizon, but you never know. I'm also against having special session after special session.

TO CONTACT FASANO:

District address: 8217 Massachusetts Ave.

New Port Richey, FL 34653-3111

Phone: (727) 848-5885

Fax: (727) 841-4453

Legislative address: Room 310, Senate Office Building

404 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100

Phone: (850) 487-5062

E-mail: fasano.mike@flsenate.gov

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: To balance the budget and get it done on time without costly special sessions. I have over 40 bills addressing a wide range of issues including education, public safety, transportation, economic and job development, consumer protection, health and human services, and the environment. Locally, my priorities are to ensure that our region receives its fair share of resources and that our legislative priorities pass through to completion.

In addition, I am sponsoring a bill that seeks to honor (slain Pasco sheriff's Lt.) Charles "Bo" Harrison by naming a highway in Pasco after him.

WILL OPPOSE: We mustn't allow ourselves to get caught up in partisan bickering. We need to get the business of the Legislature done during the time span allowed, to avoid costly special sessions.

TO CONTACT CRIST:

District address: 11961 N Florida Ave., Suite B

Tampa, FL 33612

Phone: (813) 975-6658

Legislative address: Room 208, Senate Office Building

404 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100

Phone: (850) 487-5068

E-mail: crist.victor@flsenate.gov

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: "Growth management is huge. Education. Medicaid. Some collateral issues will be how our Constitution is amended by referendum. I don't believe it should be easier (to amend)."

Specifically, Russell has proposed a bill to require local governments to factor the availability of water into their comprehensive plans for development. He has also proposed a bill to continue a pilot program in Pasco and Hernando that allows those districts to buy used books from secondhand vendors rather than publishers or the Florida School Book Depository. The program saved the two counties $51,000 last year.

TO CONTACT RUSSELL

District address: 12503 Spring Hill Drive, Lincoln Centre

Spring Hill, FL 34609-5069

Phone: (352) 688-5004

Fax: (352) 688-5006

Legislative address: Room 405, House Office Building

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-6641

E-mail: russell.dave@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: Local bills would be the "Bo" Harrison bill. Making sure we get the section of U.S. 301, from county line to county line, in Pasco named after the deputy who was shot in the line of duty. The bill statewide I think is most important is the teachers' alternative certification bill. We're short on the number of teachers. This would allow anyone who has a master's or bachelor's degree (who) is choosing to go into education to get their certification prior to going into the classroom.

One of the most important issues is going to be the developmentally disabled and that funding. (Also) education - making sure we're improving it and they have the resources they need.

WILL OPPOSE: Unfunded mandates on the local governments.

TO CONTACT FIORENTINO:

District address: 6125 Grand Blvd.

New Port Richey, FL 34652-2603

Phone: (727) 816-1307

Fax: (727) 816-1309

Legislative address: Room 400, House Office Building

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-5522

E-mail: fiorentino.heather@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: "The whole department of Children and Families is probably the most important. The second one would be education. One (specific bill) is the clean water bill that I'm filing in regard to Pasco County, primarily in the Trinity area." The bill would allow the Pasco County Commission chairman to establish a local board to oversee Pasco water utilities, such as Aloha Utilities Inc. "The second is placing defibrillators in each of the senior centers throughout the state."

WILL OPPOSE: I'm not sure yet. We'll have to look at the bills that are filed.

TO CONTACT ANDERSON:

District address: 2435 U.S. 19, Suite 160

Holiday, FL 34691

Phone: (727) 943-4760

Legislative address: Room 1102, Capitol

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-8528

E-mail: anderson.tom@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: A living will bill and legislation to allow drug testing of high school athletes, regulate Internet pharmacies and crack down on criminals who get into hotels using bogus handouts. We should reconsider the proposed bullet train, because the billions needed would suck money away from more important priorities. We should focus on increased funding for education.

WILL OPPOSE: Making it harder to amend the Constitution. Getting hundreds of thousands of people to sign a petition is a daunting challenge, in my opinion.

TO CONTACT HOMAN:

District address: 13801 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite 407

Tampa, FL 33613

Phone: (813) 983-3330

Legislative address: Room 210, House Office Building

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-3087

E-mail: homan.edward@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: Education is very important. I think we need to fund (kindergarten through Grade 12), colleges and universities. Also, we are in the process of funding Healthy Kids. Health care for our seniors and children are a priority of mine. We have to fix this disability McKay scholarship. We want to make sure the children that have disabilities in the public school system have access to everything they need, (such as) teachers (and) equipment.

Neighborly pharmacy is a local bill I'm pushing for. Seniors over 60 that don't have prescription drug coverage qualify to go to this neighborhood pharmacy in Palm Harbor and can get them at cost. There's a filling fee. So we are filing an appropriations bill for $300,000 that would eliminate that filling fee.

WILL OPPOSE: I think we need to get our work done within the 60-day session and save taxpayers' money by not being up there year-round.

TO CONTACT BILIRAKIS:

District address: 35111 U.S. 19 N, Suite 202

Palm Harbor, FL 34684

Phone: (727) 669-1911

Legislative address: Room 221, Capitol

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-5580

E-mail: bilirakis.gus@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: I think it's too easy to amend the Constitution. Our Constitution is beginning to look like bylaws . . . we're junking it up. Statewide, one of the things we are mandated to do is to come up with a balanced budget for the state of Florida. The challenge in that is to maintain the quality of life and at the same time add a quarter of a million residents to the state every year. (Also) I chair energy. After the Northeast blackouts and what happened in California, I feel we need to reassure people we have an adequate and reliable supply of electricity here in Florida.

WILL OPPOSE: Extending the session. I want us to get our work done on time this year.

TO CONTACT LITTLEFIELD:

District address: 38440 Fifth Ave.

Zephyrhills, FL 33542

Phone: (813) 558-5115

Legislative address: Room 212, Capitol

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-5744

E-mail: littlefield.ken@myfloridahouse.com

MAIN GOALS/BILLS: To continue to apply conservative principles of leadership in the House of Representatives and enable my colleagues to realize their agendas and legislative desires. I have three broad goals: in economic matters, to cut the intangibles tax and restore the tax-free back-to-school shopping holiday; to bolster domestic security by ensuring that Florida does everything it can to work with the federal government to protect our thousands of miles of shoreline, ports and airports; and to protect the quality of our health care system from predatory lawsuits by further reforming medical malpractice laws.

I strongly support additional funding for the Florida Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida. We are working on a $15-million appropriation to fight this horrible disease that is, in my mind, Florida's No. 1 health care crisis.

WILL OPPOSE: Raising taxes.

TO CONTACT BYRD:

District address: 121 N Collins St., Suite 202

Plant City, FL 33566-3311

Phone: (813) 752-5863

Legislative address: Room 420, Capitol

402 S Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Phone: (850) 488-1450

E-mail: speakerbyrd@myfloridahouse.com

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