Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 5-14-21

State
Representative Fentrice Driskell’s Bills Await The Governor’s Signature
Representative Fen- trice Driskell and the other legislators will soon be back in Tallahassee next week to discuss the Gaming Bill that Governor Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida signed.
In the meantime, Rep. Driskell is hopeful that the governor will have put his signature on the two bills she left.
Rep. Driskell’s bills, HB 37, “Abandoned Ceme- teries,” and HB 7051, “Po- lice Reform,” passed the House and Senate floors unanimously. These two bills are now to become law.
The Abandoned Ceme- teries bill addresses the mul- titude of abandoned African-American cemeter- ies located throughout the state of Florida by creating a task force to investigate, re- search, and seek placement of historical markers at these solemn locations.
“I am honored to have introduced and now unani- mously passed in the Florida House HB 37, which will bring our state one step closer to honoring African-
Representative Fentrice Driskell (Dem.-District 63, Tampa).
Americans who were dis- criminated against even in death, their graves forgotten over time and sometimes built over. There are aban- doned African-American cemeteries located through- out our entire state, several of which are located here in Hillsborough County. While we cannot change the past, we can do our best in present times to push for accounta- bility for our community and secure the respect and dig- nity that is owed to every Floridian regardless of race or ethnicity, even to those who have passed on before
us,” said Rep. Driskell. The bipartisan police re- form bill was the result of ex- tensive collaboration between the Florida Legisla- tive Black Caucus and House Leadership. It includes a col- lection of bipartisan ideas to make common-sense changes to policing in Florida. These provisions will make policing better and safer for our communities
and officers.
“Americans across the
country have been calling for police reform. The murder of George Floyd has been a galvanizing incident, bring- ing much-needed attention to this crisis. These changes will make policing better and safer for both our communi- ties and officers. This legisla- tion stands in stark contrast to the dangerous anti-protest bill that Gov. DeSantis signed into law recently. It represents what can happen when we legislate with every- one’s best interests in mind. This bill is just the beginning and we will continue fighting for fair and just policing in Florida,” said Rep. Driskell.
Representative Hart
Talks About The 2021
Legislative Session
“
The legislative session has come to an end and it has been one like I’ve never seen before. Due to COVID-19, there were none of the usual celebratory days for the various Florida counties, organizations, and most of all the children that normally get the opportunity to visit the Capitol, and little to no public interactions during committee meetings. However, that didn’t stop the important work that needed to be done.
“Many of you know the pas- sion I have for affordable hous- ing. I was elated to play a role in advocating for the stopping of sweeps from the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund. The fund will have a base of $209 mil- lion and will not be a sweep in the future. That’s a start in helping ensure that there is money to assist with affordable housing, homelessness, down payment assistance, and homeowner rehabilitation to allow many of our seniors to age in place.
“During this session, I championed various criminal justice reforms in an effort to better our state correctional fa- cilities and those who are housed in them. One of the bills I sponsored this year with Republican Senator Keith Perry was to reduce the mandatory gain-time from eighty-five percent to sixty-five percent. This bill made great progress in the State Senate, but didn’t get a hearing in the House.
“Another bill that I feel is important to highlight is a bill that would require the Florida Commission on Offender Re- view and the Department of Corrections to create clear eli- gibility requirements for pa- role. The State Parole system was done away with many years ago; however, there are still many people incarcerated that are subjected to those old rules on parole eligibility. This bill moved through one com- mittee in the House unani- mously and was one committee from making it to the Senate floor, thanks to my partner in this work, Senator Randolph Bracy.
“I’m happy to have been a part of the bipartisan legisla- tion to address both police and correctional officer use of force standards and the use of force database, issues I’ve worked on since 2018 to be included in the bill (HB 7051).
REPRESENTATIVE DIANNE HART (Dem.-Dist. 61)
“Though we didn’t reach the finish line on criminal jus- tice reform, we did secure some important funding for the district. I will provide a list of all the legislation I worked on and the total financial im- pact of the appropriations I was a part of.
“Since first elected in 2018, I have lobbied to get more days for the Back to School Holiday. I’m happy to say we did it. The legislation created a 10-day “Back-to-School” Sales Tax Holiday, from July 31 to Au- gust 9, 2021, for clothing, footwear, and backpacks cost- ing $60 or less, school supplies costing $15 or less, and the first $1,000 of the sales tax price of personal computers or per- sonal computer-related acces- sories.
“I was happy to carry two appropriation requests this session that have both been fully funded in this year’s cur- rent state budget that is await- ing the Governor’s signature.
“The first appropriation re- quest was for $250,000 to build much-needed sidewalks and other accessibility infra- structure for schools through- out the district.
“The second appropriation was for $500,000 to help with the restoration of the historic Jackson House. This was done with the assistance of Senator Darryl Rouson, who carried the appropriation in the Sen- ate. I want to assure the com- munity that each bill and appropriation must have a Senate sponsor and House sponsor to get to the end.
“I am excited about all the work that lies ahead of us. I will also be working through- out the summer to make sure that District 61 is in the right posture to receive valuable re- sources from the state as it re- lates to housing and other necessary programs.”
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