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House panel okays bill pushed by Tampa teens

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 5, 2006

Drivers would have to get an eye exam or provide proof their sight is good every time they renew their license, and drivers over 80 would have to renew every four years instead of six under a bill approved Tuesday by a House panel.

The House Health Care Committee approved the bill (HB 1337) unanimously.

The measure was written and lobbied for by high school students from the Tampa area as part of a program run by Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Lutz.

Currently, about 40 percent of drivers renew their license by Internet, phone or mail and don't have to take an eye exam. Drivers can go up to 18 years without having an eye exam.

Under the students' bill, those who don't want to renew in person could provide a doctor's or optometrist's certification that their eyesight is up to par.

"The goal of this bill is not to inhibit older drivers, but to ensure safer roads," said 16-year-old Lizzie De Santis, a junior at Tampa's Sickles High School.

The measure must still be heard by two more House panels and get through the Senate.

Students would be required to pick a major and minor during high school as part of legislation that unanimously cleared the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday.

The bill (SB 2048) also would impose new requirements for middle school students including career preparation studies. Another provision affecting high schools would require a fourth year of math.

The Senate bill does not include one of the most hotly debated parts of wider-ranging House version (HB 7087) that would let the governor declare a "state of educational emergency" and oversee districts with low-performing schools at the request of the State Board of Education. That's unnecessary because the state already has plenty of options for helping troubled schools, said Sen. Evelyn Lynn.

Convicted sexual predators would be breaking the law if they get a prescription for Viagra or some other erectile dysfunction drug under a bill approved unanimously Tuesday by the Senate Health Care Committee.

Under the bill (SB 1834), the first time the sexual predator possesses an erection-inducing drug, he could be convicted of a second-degree misdemeanor and subsequent violations would be first-degree misdemeanors.

[Last modified April 5, 2006, 06:26:32]