Cape Coral Rep. Dane Eagle announced on Friday that he is steadily moving his 2015 legislative agenda through the House, amid a high volume of noise and conflict circling the Legislature in both chambers.
“I am gratified by the support of my colleagues for this robust legislative agenda,” said Eagle in a statement.
“These good measures are based on the principles of accountability, consumer protection, making government regulation less burdensome and government itself more efficient, and each of them will positively affect Floridians in a multitude of ways,” he continued.
Among the sophomore Republican’s priorities that have gained traction are a slew of gradual but substantial changes to compensation for state workers.
HB 105 for instance rectifies an inconsistency that put firefighters working in unincorporated parts of Florida counties to collect pension funding despite a flaw in some interlocal service agreements that lacked such a provision, while HB 7007 corrects a loop hole that limited meal and travel reimbursements for state emergency workers working in states where those costs are more expensive.
Eagle also advanced some smart, practical legislation in the area of construction and land use, sponsoring HB 915 – which makes minor tweaks building permitting laws to aid development – and HB 1043, a bill to provide for local agreements between cities and counties to consolidate housing authorities, saving taxpayers money by creating efficiencies and adjuring redundant agencies that do the same work.
Eagle’s slate of substantive changes to state law show a young lawmaker demonstrating growing chops in the legislative process especially when as relates to municipal issues, a strategic niche for a Republican lawmaker from a Cape Coral base known for sound government.
Eagle, who chairs the House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee, has also weighed in on the ever-challenging area of public utilities, overseeing his members’ work on HB 7109 which makes reforms to rein in the power of Public Service Commission panelists, subjecting them to term limits in order to reinforce legislative oversight.
In his statement, Eagle said the bill “embodies the principles of accountability, transparency and consumer protection to enhance public confidence in the Public Service Commission (PSC) and clarify regulatory practices for better protection of electric utility customers across the state.”
