Guest Column: Report on legislative sessions

Guest Column: Report on legislative sessions

Representative Paul Renner
House District 24
Palm Coast, FL

Dear Historic City News readers:

I want to provide you with a summary of this year’s accomplishments during the regular and special legislative sessions; we addressed many important issues facing our state and community while balancing our budget and adding to our reserve fund.

We provided tax relief for every Floridian, developed a plan to protect our natural resources, expanded opportunities for people with unique abilities, promoted incentives for those considering adoption, and reduced testing for students while increasing education funding to record levels.

Specifically, we passed $428 million in broad-based tax relief that will benefit every Floridian.

Governor Scott signed the tax package into law on June 16. This tax package:

• Reduced the Communication Services Tax rate on cable and cellular phone service
• Exempted college textbooks and instructional materials from sales tax (one year)
• Extended the “Back to School” sales tax holiday to 10 days, from August 7th- 16th
• Clarified that a membership in a gun club is not subject to sales tax
• Ensured our active military do not pay sales taxes on vehicles they or their spouse purchased overseas.

We approved significant funding to preserve our natural resources.

Consistent with the voter-approved Amendment 1, our state will devote hundreds of millions of dollars in the upcoming year to protect our springs and parks, take steps to ensure a long-term supply of drinking water, and acquire sensitive environmental lands.

In education, we continue to seek the right balance in school testing for our students.

We want to preserve accountability and test to ensure students are making necessary progress, but not so much that we test at the expense of learning. In an effort to help children with unique abilities, we expanded the Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts program, which empowers parents to create a customized education plan that best meets the needs of their child. Our legislature also made education a priority by increasing funding to record levels.

We did all this while maintaining our fiscally responsible approach.

As a result, Florida successfully funds critical government services while taxing Floridians at the lowest per capita rate of any state.

Based on our commitment to set priorities and balance our budget, Florida is one of only 15 states with the highest possible AAA credit rating, and we continue to pay down debt while building our “rainy day” reserve fund.

Today, Florida is attracting new businesses and is among the leading states in the country for job creation.

We advocated for specific health care reforms that empower patients and reduce costs so more people can afford quality care.

I co-sponsored measures to expand patient options to use ambulatory surgery centers, which provide common surgical procedures at significantly less cost than a hospital, and recovery care centers, that reduce costs for post-operative recovery.

I also co-sponsored our “Direct Primary Care” bill that would reduce costs and improve access by removing insurance and government bureaucrats from the doctor-patient relationship.

If we can pass this bill, patients can deal directly with their primary care provider for the cost of a typical cable bill.

These and other reforms can reduce healthcare costs and eliminate government barriers to innovation that will improve health outcomes for all Floridians.

---

Historic City News followed up on this Guest Column and confirmed an earlier statement received from a District 24 constituent.

“I truly appreciate the special trust and confidence that our community has placed in me as your elected representative,” Renner told local reporters.  “If I can be of assistance to you in the future, please contact my local or Tallahassee office.”

We were encouraged by a philosophical objection voiced by Representative Renner related to his service to St Johns and Flagler counties — he told us “I do not believe our Founders ever intended for public service to be a life-long career.”  We agree.

His statement today that accompanied the legislative report re-enforced what he told our editor, Michael Gold, during a candidate forum in St Augustine Beach during his campaign.

“On a personal note, I have declined eligibility to receive a state pension,” Renner said.  “I simply believe that those who are elected to office should not receive retirement from the taxpayers.”