SENATOR BILL MONTFORD

Democratic Policy Chair

3rd District
THE FLORIDA SENATE
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100


COMMITTEES:
Agriculture, Chair
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Vice Chair
Education, Vice Chair
Appropriations
Appropriations Subcommittee on Health
and Human Services
Banking and Insurance
Gaming
Governmental Oversight and Accountability
Rules

SELECT COMMITTEE:
Select Committee on Indian River Lagoon
and Lake Okeechobee Basin, Vice Chair



REPLY TO:
214 Senate Office Building, 404 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100 (850) 487-5003
20 East Washington Street, Suite D, Quincy, Florida 32351 (850) 627-9100

Senates Website: www.flsenate.gov


DON GAETZ GARRETT RICHTER
President of the Senate President Pro Tempore

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: TAYLOR GILBERT
May 8, 2014 850-487-5003


Senator Montford Supports Floridians with Votes in the Senate

TALLAHASSEEThe 2014 Legislative Session was productive and meaningful for the State of
Florida. Senator Bill Montford (D-Tallahassee) was an active part in passing many bills that will help
the hardworking communities of North Florida. Senator Montford maintained strong advocacy for
the needs of his eleven counties; Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson, Leon,
Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla. When asked about the 2014 Session Senator Montford
said, The country can easily look to Florida as an example of how common-sense and principled
answers can be found on both sides of the aisle and quite frankly in the middle of the aisle. We have
and will continue to work together, Senate and House, Democrat and Republican to do what is best
for Florida. In the 2014 Session, Senator Montford helped to shape the following legislative
decisions:

Springs Protection: Senator Montford co-sponsored legislation with four other Senators in a bi-
partisan effort that became known as the Springs Bill. It addressed the many water issues that the
State of Florida is facing. While the bill passed the Senate, it did not make it out of the House. We
started very important and dire conversations about the state of our invaluable and irreplaceable
springs in Florida and we have every intention of continuing them next year, said Montford.

Maintaining the Florida Retirement System and State Employee Health Insurance: Senator
Montford is well known in the Senate as an advocate and voice for state workers and as such he
helped to maintain the current, sturdy Florida Retirement System that faced many challenges
throughout the 2014 Session. He was also instrumental in defending the well-managed health
insurance policies for state workers.

Preservation of the Instructional Materials Process: Senator Montford was pivotal in the
preservation of the statewide instructional materials process, which will not only maintain cost
savings for local school districts but also give parents more opportunity for input in their childs
learning materials.

Effective Timeline for School Accountability: As a long time educator, Senator Montford
advocated for a realistic timeline to ensure the proper implementation of the many facets in the
Public School Accountability program including technology and testing.

Senator Bill Montford Press Release
Page 2


Local Pharmacy Choice: Communities will now be able to choose their local pharmacies or mail-
order when ordering prescriptions on the State Group Insurance PPO (Preferred Provider
Organization).

Tax Cuts: The Florida Legislature came together this year to offer many hard working Floridians
much needed tax cuts totaling $500 million. It included reduced annual motor vehicle license
renewal registration fee. This alone will save drivers between $20 and $25 each.

Rural Areas of Critical Economic Concern (RACEC): The Legislature passed legislation to
help cities in RACEC communities avert the cost of removing or relocating utility lines on the
State Highway System in certain circumstances, by allowing FDOT to pay for such costs. In
addition, the legislation will allow municipalities within a RACEC or a RACEC community to
compete for project funding using Small County Outreach Program (SCOP) criteria.

Flood Insurance Legislation: Legislation was also passed to establish a private flood insurance
market in Florida, which will hopefully lower flood insurance rates for Florida Citizens. The
proposal is aimed at addressing the federal flood insurance crisis caused by the rising rates being
imposed by the National Flood Insurance Program.

Budget Items:
In recognition of the importance of acting this year on Floridas springs, the legislature funded $25
million for springs restoration plus another $1.7 million for springs monitoring.

The legislature recognized the importance of improved learning environments for children and
funded $14 million dollars for public school construction in Senator Montfords district.

The Senate and the House agreed on $6,937.23 per student, public school funding which is $176
more dollars per student than last year, and totals $18.9 billion towards public schools.

Local Items: Senator Bill Montford also worked tirelessly to ensure that Franklin County was
awarded the following allocations:

DESCRIPTION FUNDED
Carrabelle Old City Hall - Phase II Historical Rehabilitation $50,000
Chapman Auditorium Reroofing $50,000
City of Apalachicola - Apalachicola Center for History, Culture & Art $25,000
City of Apalachicola - Chapman School Building $497,000
Dixie Theatre Foundation, Inc. $16,950
Fort Coombs Armory Rehabilitation $350,000
Franklin County - Vrooman Park $50,000
Franklin's Promise Coalition, Inc. - Weems Memorial Arts In Medicine $25,000

Senator Bill Montford Press Release
Page 3

Apalachicola Bay Oyster Processor Facilities Upgrades
$768,060


TOTAL: $1,832,010

FDOT Road Projects Total:
Apalachicola Regional Airport Rehab Runway 18/36 PH II $265,147
Apalachicola Regional Airport Stormwater & Drainage $2,400,000
Carrabelle-Thompson Airport extend runway 5/23 $181,818
SR 30 (US 98) Ave E from W of CR 384 12th ST to Apalachicola River
Bridge $833,096
SR 300 Island Drive from SR 30 (US 98) to ST George Island Bridge $75,441
Crooms Inc. Transit Section 5311 Non-urbanized Area $131,628

TOTAL: $3,887,130

GRAND TOTAL: $5,719,140


**All Line I tems are Subject to the Governors Veto


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