Dear Friends,

We are now at about the halfway point of the 60-day Legislative Session in Tallahassee. We are reminded of how blessed we are to be living in this great state and it is an honor to be able to serve you in the Florida Senate. Thanks to you, Florida continues to thrive economically and we are seeing hundreds of people moving here every day. While we are excited that they have chosen Florida to work and raise a family, it does present us with many challenges as we address the explosion of growth. Our leadership team in the Senate, along with Governor DeSantis and the Speaker of the House, is working tirelessly to address these needs and continue to make Florida’s future secure.

Senator Travis Hutson recently presented SB 240 in the Pre-K – 12 Education Committee. This bill revises current high school graduation requirements to place a specific emphasis on educational curriculum that is focused on technical education and career training. Additionally, this legislation establishes a program that allows local businesses to assess the job market for their specified region and collaborate with local schools to ensure that roles found to be of a greater need are greater emphasized in our educational system. As the entire nation attempts to address labor shortages in key fields such as nursing and logistics, Florida will lead through innovative educational policies that benefit individual students and the economy as a whole.

SB 202 recently passed its third and final committee and is headed to the floor. This bill establishes universal school choice across the State of Florida. This bill puts parents in the driver’s seat regarding their child’s education, provides parents and students with the full array of educational opportunities, and allows every student in Florida to receive an education in a setting fit to their own individual needs. Through this legislation, families of students who fall below 185% of the federal poverty level (FPL) will be prioritized, with a second priority for households with income below 400% of FPL, to receive an empowerment account to take education dollars earmarked for their child and choose among a variety of options to customize their child’s k-12 education.

As the fentanyl crisis continues to threaten millions of Floridians each day, it is critical that the legislature take a proactive approach to ensure that we limit the negative impact of synthetic drugs that are flooding into our state through the southern border. Recently, SB 736 was heard in the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice where it passed with unanimous committee support. Senate Bill 736 adds nitazenes, synthetic opioids similar to fentanyl, to the list of Schedule 1 controlled substances. This legislation ensures that our law enforcement agencies across the state have the necessary tools to cease the distribution of nitazenes and hold those accountable who are distributing this poison in our communities.

We encourage all of you to keep track of these bills and more at flsenate.gov, or you can call our office at 352-750-3133 and one of our staff will be glad to assist you. We are here to serve you.

Onward & Upward,

Senator Dennis Baxley

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