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Students learn a lesson in lobbying

They're in Tallahassee to push a bill requiring vision tests for all drivers. Along the way, they see the power of the AARP.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published March 29, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Some older drivers in Florida can barely see where they're going, and a determined group of Tampa high school students can easily see that a law needs changing.

With encouragement from Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Lutz, five students are in the Capitol this week, personally lobbying for a law to require every driver to take a vision test each time he or she applies for a new license.

"This ensures that if they don't have good vision, they don't get renewed," said the bill's author, Ashley Noesen, a senior at Chamberlain High in Tampa who is joined by four students from Gaither and Sickles high schools.

No vision test, no license renewal - simple as that.

At least it seemed simple.

The students' goal soon collided with lawmakers wary of imposing additional driving restrictions, especially on their older constituents who vote.

They also got a lesson in the power of the lobby group known as AARP, which opposes stricter vision tests only for older drivers.

The students' basic goal was to close what they see as a loophole in the law that allows drivers to stay on the road for 18 consecutive years without their vision being checked. But their initial proposal, to require more frequent vision tests only for drivers over the age of 70, brought unflattering attention from the AARP.

"We believe deteriorating physical abilities at all ages need to be considered," AARP lobbyist Lori Parham told legislators. "Requiring all Floridians to get a vision test at renewal, no matter their age, meets that goal."

After meeting with AARP and other parties, the students retooled the bill to require all drivers' eyesight to be tested when the licenses are due for renewal - every six years for safe drivers.

The students won Round One on Tuesday with a unanimous vote of support in the House Transportation Committee for their bill (HB 1337).

For nearly an hour, lawmakers peppered the students with questions, some so technical that the savviest lobbyist wouldn't be subjected to such interrogation.

When the students said Maryland mandates a physical exam for drivers over age 70, Rep. Stan Jordan, R-Jacksonville, demanded to know the percentage of Maryland drivers who flunked. (The students' response, typical of legislative hearings: We'll get back to you on that).

The kids' crusade faces an uncertain fate in several more legislative committees, and a skeptical Sen. Jim Sebesta, a St. Petersburg Republican who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. He said the cost of all those employees needed to give those vision tests and the likelihood of even longer lines at driver license offices concerns him.

"I'll try to give it a fair hearing," Sebesta said. "I think there will be a lot of opposition."

About 2-million Florida drivers renewed their licenses last year, and 1.2-million of them did it in person in a driver license office. Those "walk-ins" comprised 60 percent of all license renewals. The rest were divided between mail-in and Internet renewals.

Under the students' bill, a driver could still renew a license by mail or the Internet by providing a form signed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist certifying the driver's vision.

Ambler's program, "There Ought to be a Law," encourages civic involvement by high school students who propose bills, choose one to be filed and follow up by drafting legislation and lobbying for passage.

Ashley Noesen, the oldest student in the group, plans to attend North Carolina State next year and study business while taking part in gymnastics. For two days this week, she and the others are learning how democracy really works.

"Students realize they can become active participants in our democracy," said Jean Evans, a Chamberlain teacher who accompanied the group to Tallahassee.

Steve Bousquet is at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified March 29, 2006, 01:23:20]