Issues

Economic Development

My top priority is revitalizing Florida’s economy so that Floridians will be able to get back to work. Our state must have a business-friendly environment that incentivizes businesses to come to Florida and for Floridians to start their own businesses.

There’s no doubt, the Space Shuttle’s retirement will have a devastating economic impact and result in thousands of Floridians losing their jobs. I have fought for and passed legislation to strengthen and diversify Florida’s space industry. I remain committed to working with federal, state, and local leaders to mitigate the effects of the Space Shuttle’s retirement and to ensure that our state’s space industry thrives.

Responsible Spending

For the foreseeable future, Florida will run significant budget deficits. We must prioritize our state’s spending, root out waste in the budget, and produce balanced budgets without raising taxes. State government must live within its means, just like Florida’s families and businesses must do.

I have voted to cut billions of dollars in state spending, and I will continue to pursue fiscally conservative policies.

Education

Providing a quality education for our children is critical. As the father of two children in public schools, the quality of our state’s education system is very important to me.

Many problems with our schools require attention. First, we must make sure that our students will be able to successfully compete in today’s global marketplace upon high school and college graduation.

We must also address our state’s high school drop-out rate, which is one of the worst in the country. Our students should be offered more vocational options in high school to keep their interests and prepare them for skilled jobs.

We must provide appropriate resources for our schools while also demanding accountability.

Because of many of the reforms implemented over the last decade, Florida’s public schools now rank 8th in the country in education quality. I will continue to support policies that seek to raise the bar even higher.

Property Taxes

Families and small businesses are having a hard time keeping up with higher property taxes. In fact, exploding property taxes are threatening the American Dream of home ownership – for young families and retirees alike.

The Legislature has made strides in reducing property taxes. I supported legislation to level the playing field between taxpayers and property appraisers by removing the automatic presumption of correctness that is given to the property appraiser’s opinion on valuations of property. I also supported ballot initiatives to give our deployed servicemen and women property tax relief, and to help provide relief for first-time homebuyers and non-homesteaded property owners.
There is still much work to be done regarding our state’s broken property tax system, and I will continue to work on reforming the system.

Property Insurance Reform

While there has been some success bringing down property insurance rates, too much of the monetary risk for a major hurricane strike is still held by the taxpayers through Citizens Property Insurance Company. As such, I supported legislation to bring more competition into the Florida market and to give consumers more choice. With competition and choice, lower rates will follow. That said, just like in the case of our property tax system, we still have a long way to go towards fixing our property insurance system.

Values Matter

To me, traditional values like family, church, and community are paramount. I believe that family values begin at home, and my wife Kristen and I have tried to set an example of a strong, involved family. We are active in our church and our kids’ school. As your State Representative, I will continue to work to protect traditional family values.

Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration is costing Florida taxpayers over $3 billion every year in education and health care expenses while at the same time costing jobs that could be filled by unemployed citizens. Since Congress has been unable to solve the problem, I believe that we must do more in the State of Florida. Our law enforcement officers should be empowered to arrest illegal aliens when they discover them in the course of regular law enforcement and we should crack down on companies who knowingly hire them.

Fuel Prices/Energy

We all remember the effects that gasoline prices of $4.00 per gallon or higher had on our budgets. While much of this situation is controlled at the national and international levels, I always look for every possible way to help reduce the impact of high energy prices on Floridians. I believe we need to provide incentives for more alternative energy sources. We should also review Florida’s existing laws governing the marketing of gasoline and, where feasible, provide better mass transit options.