SB 10
SB 10, a plan that will increase the amount of water stored south of Lake Okeechobee, was a priority for Senate President Joe Negron and went through significant revisions to ensure that it would not harm the Glades community. By converting 14,000 acres of state land now used as a shallow reservoir into a deep-water reservoir, the $1.5 billion plan will create at least 240,000 acre feet of storage--equating to some 78 billion gallons of water. Additional land could be acquired through negotiations with willing sellers, but the use of eminent domain will be prohibited. Furthermore, the bill seeks to help spur economic development in the Glades region by establishing the Everglades Restoration Agricultural Community Employment Training program within the Department of Economic Opportunity which will offer grants for job training programs.
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Farm Share in the Glades a Tremendous Success!
Over 1400 people from the Glades area received free nutritious food at the Fantastic Food Giveaway event held at Hands Park in Belle Glade. Farm Share, a charitable packinghouse, works with Florida farmers to prevent food waste and distribute healthy food including produce, juice, and bread. Special thanks to the City of Belle Glade, along with Mayor Steve Wilson, Commissioner Larry Underwood, Vice Mayor Mary Wilkerson, and Indian Trail Improvement District Supervisor Betty Argue for assisting at the event. Over 50 volunteers including the Guardians of the Glades, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, United Way of the Palm Beach County, and many others helped make this event a success!
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Hurricane Preparedness
Hurricane season began on June 1 and lasts until November 30. After our close call with Hurricane Matthew last year, it is vitally important to be prepared. Here are some helpful links and contact information to help you learn more:
Get alerted about emergencies and other important community news by signing up for the County's Emergency Alert Program. This system enables the County to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons and evacuations of buildings or neighborhoods. You will receive time-sensitive messages wherever you specify, such as your home, mobile or business phones, email address, text messages and more. You pick where, you pick how. Sign up here: http://pbcgov.com/knowurzone/.
Solid Waste Authority: http://www.swa.org/151/Hurricane-Information
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Palm Beach County's Emergency Information Center: (561) 712-6400 |
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FAC 2nd Vice President
I am excited to announce that I have been unanimously elected 2nd Vice President of the Florida Association of Counties! I am grateful to those who have placed their trust in me for this important position, and I look forward to working closely with my partners throughout the state to support the interests of Florida's counties!
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Marlene Young Advocacy Award
Furthermore, I was honored to receive the Marlene Young Presidential Advocacy Award, which is presented to an elected county official who has shown outstanding leadership and commitment to the mission of the Florida Association of Counties. In presenting this award to me, FAC highlighted my advocacy in combating the opioid epidemic. I am pictured here with FAC President Kathy Bryant, who lost her brother to an opioid overdose, at the Legislative Awards Luncheon held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on June 28, 2017.
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Opioid Epidemic Update
I recently sent a letter to Governor Scott asking him to extend the sixty-day emergency declaration for the opioid epidemic that he had originally declared on May 3. Thankfully, on June 29th he issued an executive order to extend the declaration for another sixty days. My letter can be viewed here:
Letter to Governor
Also, this session the legislature passed and the Governor signed several bills addressing opioids and sober homes:
HB 807 implements recommendations from the Sober Homes Task Force and the 15th Judicial Circuit Grand Jury Report by prohibiting recovery residences from engaging in fraudulent marketing practices and patient brokering and establishing criminal penalties. Thank you to Senator Clemens and Representative Hager for sponsoring the Senate and House versions, and a special thank you to State Attorney Dave Aronberg for his tireless efforts to get this bill passed!
HB 249 encourages first responders to report overdose data to the Department of Health within 120 hours through the Emergency Medical Service Tracking and Reporting System and requires the DOH to make this information available to local governments no later than 120 hours after it is reported.
HB 477 creates new penalties for fentanyl trafficking and possession. Possession of 4 grams of fentanyl will lead to a mandatory minimum of 3 years in prison, 14 grams to 15 years in prison, and 28 grams to 25 years in prison.
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Hunger Round Table Discussion
WPEC TV 12 held its Your Voice, Your Future Round Table on seasonal hunger in a live one-hour special. Palm Beach County has upwards of 200,000 residents, 64,000 of whom are children, who don’t eat daily. It’s worse in the summertime when school is out and children do not get their daily hot breakfast and/or lunch from school. Anchor Liz Quirantes hosted a panel discussion that included Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay; Dr. Laurie George, CEO of United Way; Allison Monbleau, Director of School Food Service for Palm Beach County Schools; Karen Erren, Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Food Bank; Ruth Mageria, Executive Director of CROS Ministries; and West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio.
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Guardians of the Glades Meeting
Early last month, I was invited to speak at a Guardians of the Glades Meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to share the appropriations received by the Glades during this legislation session, discuss the public safety and economic impact of SB 10, and offer an update on ongoing projects in the Glades Region Master Plan. The Guardians continue to do incredible work, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to protect the interests of the Glades community.
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Helping Feed Local Students
During the Florida Association of Counties conference in late June, over 350 County Commissioners and other officials gathered to hand-pack 500 bags of food to feed homeless students in Palm Beach County. It was the first time this kind of volunteer event had been held at a FAC conference.
Each bag was packed with enough milk, cereal, fruit, snack crackers, and canned meals to sustain one homeless child over a summer weekend. A personal hand-written note of encouragement, inspiration, or advice was also added to the bag.
Sadly, there are over 4,000 homeless students in our County. I will never forget the young girl my daughter invited home from school one weekend who told me the coolest thing about being in our house was that we had food. We take for granted the blessings we have been given sometimes. This was a chance for Commissioners to give back some of those blessings to local children.
I'm grateful to Living Hungry, a local charity, and Sysco, the event's sponsor, for joining me to make a difference in the lives of these students.
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ades region received strong support from the legislature during this year's legislative session, and I want to thank Palm Beach County's entire Legislative Delegation and Legislative Affairs team for their tremendous leadership and hard work in securing this important funding! 
