Florida Model Legislature House of Representatives

The House Platform

This year the House of Representatives has several goals that it would like to focus on, those being economic development, accountability, civil rights, health care, and education. Below are the ways that we believe we can make our state an example that the rest of the country can follow.
For the 2013 Session:

Economic Development
        Infrastructure: Statewide infrastructure renewal is a necessity. With our roads falling apart and being out dated, the House will create the largest statewide infrastructure development in our history in order to invigorate local economies and increase competition for Florida commerce.
        Florida Rail- High Speed State Wide Transportation: Transportation across Florida needs to be expidited. 9 hour drives from Tallahassee to South Florida have proved dangerous, costly, and time consuming. The same applies for Tampa to Daytona. The House will work to create a state funded and supported high speed rail to provide a safer, faster, and more efficient form of transportation for Florida residents, all while creating jobs for Florida's unemployed.
        Home Owner Foreclosure Relief: Floridians were divested with the collapse of the housing market. Too many residents are having their houses foreclosed, are not being able to refinance their homes, or cannot get loans to purchase new homes. The House realizes it is needed for the economic future of the state to address this problem and do so swiftly and correctly. Therefore, the House will pass legislation with incentives for banks to create alternatives to foreclosures, to refinance homes, and to provide Floridians with loans for new homes. The state will also create a short-term small loan program for those looking to pay off small bills. 
        Tourism Incentive: Being blessed with such beautiful scenery and climate that is the envy of the nation, along with an enormously diverse population, Florida attracts guests from around the world. As such, it is a pillar of our economy and in such a slow recovery it is important for the for the state to assist this industry. The House will propose incentives for guests to visit all areas of our state ranging transportation costs to admission tickets.  
 

Accountability
        Recall of Elected Officials: Pass resolutions allowing all public officials to be recalled from office. A petition with a percentage of votes casted in the past election will be required to recall officers.

Civil Rights
        Same Sex Marriage: The House encourages equal rights for all and will promote the legalization of LGBTQ marriage in the state of Florida.
        Equal Pay for Equal Work: Decades after women's movements and after countless legislation from the federal government still hasn't allowed for women to receive equal pay for equal work. Florida will institute a heavy fine for those found not paying/promoting women for doing similar work as men. 
        In State Tuition for All Florida Residents: Florida is home to some of the most diverse populations. The House believes that these immigrants that recognize the true beauty of Florida must be acknowledged, especially the education of their children. That is why Florida will remove out of state tuition for illegal immigrants that can prove Florida residency for the past three years and maintain a clean record. The students will have to attend a Florida post secondary institution and develop a path for citizenship to contribute to the state of Florida.

Health Care
        Medicare Expansion: The House stands resolute in passing an expansion of Medicare pursuant to U.S. Public Law 111 - 148 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). This expansion will increase the amount of Florida residents with Health Care by 1 million, addressing the desperate issue of Florida being the second largest state with uninsured residents.

Education
        State University and College System Quality Expansion: The State of Florida is privileged to be home to some of the greatest universities and State Colleges in the nation. As such, the House wants to provide all the resources available for the SUS and SCS to increase in quality and bring into our great state talent, not only from around the country, but around the world. 
        Public School Quality Expansion: As a feeder for our state university and college system, it is important that we prepare our high school students with all the tools they need to be successful. This includes recruiting and providing incentives for the greatest teachers to teach in our schools and placing the highest standard of education on our students.

Being a Representative

At Florida Model Legislature, you can become a representative of the lower house of the Florida Legislature. Serving in this position, you will need to prepare extensively. This includes learning about the Real Florida House of Representatives and how it works with the Real Florida Senate. In addition to this, you must pay particular attention to the Difference between the Real Legislature, and the Model Legislature. Some rules will be different, and you may learn about them on our Resources Page. 

In your preparation, you will also need to learn about Florida's system for submitting Bills, and passing them through Committee's. And you will need to learn about Florida Model Legislatures Bills and Committees System.