AWord From Williams Monthly Legislative Update January 2018 DISTRICT OFFICE 2003 W Cypress Creek Rd. Suite- 100 TALLAHASSEE OFFICE 1102 The Capitol 402 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399 Representative Patricia H. Williams District 92 pat.williams@myfloridahouse.gov THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING ME AS YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISTRICT 92. IT IS AN HONOR TO SERVE MY DISTRICT AND HERE IN THE CAPITOL. THIS NEWSLETTER IS MY WAY OF KEEPING YOU INFORMED OF MY WORK IN TALLAHASSEE DURING THE 2018 LEGISLATIVE SESSION. IN IT YOU WILL FIND A LIST OF THE BILLS I HAVE SPONSORED AND APPROPRIATIONS I HAVE FILED. I AM NEAR THE COMPLETION OF MY FRESHMAN TERM, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REPRESENT THE NINETY SECOND DISTRICT TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE AND SUPPORT. 2018 Sponsored Bills Florida s 2018 Legislative session began January 9, 2018. On behalf of District 92, I filed the legislation listed below. 1. HB 281 Incarcerated Parents 2. HB 479 Health Care Facility Inspections 3. HB 995 Optional Medicaid Payments 4. HCR 1161 Equal Rights for Men and Women 5. HB 1405 Safe Neighborhood Improvement Districts 6. HB 1407 Trust Funds/Creation/Safe Neighborhood Improvement District Revolving Loan Trust Each legislator in the Florida House of Representatives is given the opportunity to file six (6) bills, during the Legislative Session. After the bills are filed, they will each be assigned to two-three Committees. Their passage through each assigned committee determines whether the legislation will be heard on the House Floor before it can become a law. 2018 Filed Appropriations HB 2753 Lauderdale Lakes Drainage Improvement and Flood Control HB 2755 Lauderdale Lakes Storm water Conveyance and Storm water Quality Improvement HB 2757 Dixie Highway Streetscape Improvement Projects- Pompano Beach HB 2759 Blount Road Streetscape Improvement Project- Pompano Beach HB 3459 Blanche Ely House Renovation HB 3461 Pompano Beach Fire Station 61 Replacement Project HB 3463 Pompano Beach Fire Station 52 Replacement Project HB 4365 City of Deerfield Beach- Purchase of Lots HB 4367 City of Deerfield Beach- Beach Lots HB 3457 Broward College- Seaport Training Grant
SOME STATS Provided By the House Democratic Caucus In the spirit of transparency, the House Democratic Caucus provides the breakdown of bills that have been placed on the calendar for a hearing up to this point. They will keep a running count each week as we proceed through Session. As of Monday, January 16th, 207 bills have been placed on committee agendas in the Florida House. Of those, 144 are sponsored by Republicans, 30 are sponsored by Democrats, and 33 bills have bi-partisan co-sponsors. These numbers translate to, 69.6% of the bills that have been considered being Republican, 14.5% are Democratic, and 15.9% are bipartisan. On the House Floor, 16 bills have been heard. Of those, 15 are sponsored by Republicans, 0 are sponsored by Democrats, and 1 bill has bi-partisan co-sponsors. Republicans Democrats Bi-Partisan 2
MEET YOUR REP. For immediate release January 31, 2018 Contact Nadlie Charles Senior Legislative Assistant Nadlie. Charles@Myfloridahouse.gov (954)202-3201 Representative Patricia Williams Bill Addressing Home Permanence Delays for Children of Incarcerated Parents Passes Final Committee Tallahassee, FL Representative Patricia Williams (D-Lauderdale Lakes) has filed HB 281 to combat delays in finding children in the child welfare system permanent homes. According to the Department of Children and Families (DCF), every child in dependency court has a case plan identifying services that allow the child to go home or find another permanent home. Representative Williams bill works by utilizing current DCF and Department of Corrections resources to provide parents with guidance on services they can use to involve themselves in the case plan process of their children. Last Thursday, HB 281 was considered favorable, unanimously passing its final assigned committee and is ready for the House floor. Even if incarcerated, parents must be an active participant with their child s case plan to ensure the process is completed and a permanent home is secured. Currently, if a child is in the welfare system and the parent is jailed, cases become delayed for months, which significantly lengthens the time it takes abused and neglected children to find permanent homes. I want to guarantee that incarcerated parents children are prioritized by providing a process that allows them to take part in ensuring their child s well-being. Most importantly we are taking measures to ensure children are being placed in good homes, stated Representative Patricia Williams. Every case is special and they require different approaches. If we ignore the rights of parents and the urgency to place children in good homes, we are truly failing Florida s vulnerable children. HB 281 puts the best interest of children first by streamlining aspects of the child welfare process and encouraging incarcerated parents to work towards a solution for their children. In the event that a parent is unwilling to show these efforts, it does not delay that child s search for a permanent home. In cases where a child won t be reunified with an incarcerated parent but might be adopted, failure to offer the parent an opportunity to complete a case plan can be a barrier to terminating parental rights and adoption. HB 281 has gone through its final action after being placed on the house floor Special Order Calendar on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 and passing unanimously, 112 YEAS, 0 NAYS. 3
A CLOSER LOOK Rep. Williams and members from the Alzheimer's Association Rep. Williams and members of the Florida ACLU Representative Williams with Participants in the AMI Kids Program Representative Williams with Members of the Machinists Union 4
Delta Days at the Capitol (DDAC 2018) HR 8009 - Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc./Delta Days at the Capitol : Acknowledges Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., for its remarkable contributions to state & recognizes January 21-23, 2018, as 24th annual "Delta Days at the Capitol." 5
Delta Days at the Capitol (DDAC 2018) 6