Tax Day Tea Parties Near You
TAX DAY TEA PARTIES HAPPENING NEAR YOU
This week Tea Party groups from all around the state will gather to rally on Tax Day.??
Your presence and participation is highly encouraged.
Guests at different rallies include Governor Rick Scott, Senator Marco Rubio, Herman Cain, CFO Jeff Atwater, Andrew Breitbart and many others. Come out and spread your voice – the voice of less government and lower taxes.
There are rallies scheduled in:
ORLANDO – Friday April 15th- 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
TAMPA – Friday April 15th- 4:00 PM-8:00 PM
BRADENTON – Friday, April 15th ??? 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
JACKSONVILLE – Friday April 15th- 6:30 PM-9:30 PM
ST. AUGUSTINE – Saturday April 16th- 11:00 AM-4:00 PM
Access the event details on our calendar page here. We hope to see you there!
ACTION ALERT: EFFORTS TO INCREASE UTILITY RATES MUST BE STOPPED
House and Senate Committees in Tallahassee have approved legislation ??? SB 7082 and HB 7217 ??? that essentially allows for a $358 million a year increase in utility rates for Floridians. Considering Florida???s industrial utility rates are
already 52 percent higher and residential rates are 20 percent higher than the average of surrounding states, it is obvious the raising rates higher will further prevent our economic recovery and growth.??
Despite over 300 emails having been sent to the legislature on this issue, the bills continue to move through the process and House and Senate leadership have yet to take a public stance on them. Tell the legislature that this is not the time
for a new tax!
Contact
your elected representatives and leaders here and tell them Florida can???t afford more taxes!
UPDATE: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STAYS IN BUSINESS
At least for now, the federal government will keep the lights on.?? Last week they agreed to funding the remainder of the fiscal year and cutting $38 billion.?? However, the battles will continue this week as the President proposes his own 2012
spending plan in the light of the plan unveiled by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan last week. Chairman Ryan???s 2012 budget proposal includes $4.4 Trillion ??? that???s right, Trillion ??? in cuts.?? It???s about time Washington stand-up and take the bold
and necessary steps to getting the country back on track.
In addition, Senate President Mike Haridopolos proposed SCR 4 this week, a concurrent resolution calling for a federal constitutional convention to add a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution. Florida is the 22nd state to file an Article
V resolution. Two-thirds of the states are needed to call a constitutional convention.?? The resolution is expected to be heard this week.
CONGRESS ACTS ON REINING IN OUT-OF-CONTROL RULEMAKING
AFP has been closely following the current administration???s attempts to usurp the legislative process by enacting far reaching policies through bureaucratic rulemaking.?? Last week Congress took action on two major issues ??? the EPA and the
FCC.??
The House voted to stop both the FCC and EPA from their over-reaching regulations. Unfortunately, the Senate did not take the same stand, and the vote to stop EPA regulations of Greenhouse Gasses through the Clean Air Act failed with a 50-50
vote.?? Thank your member if they voted to support these issues, but let the members that didn???t vote yes know that you are watching and will remember their votes in November!
See how your members voted:
Senate Votes to Stop the EPA
here.
House Votes to Stop the FCC
here.
House Voted to Stop the EPA here.
ISSUE HIGHLIGHT: BUSINESS DEREGULATION
This past week, the House of Representatives passed an important business deregulation measure, HB 5005.?? This bill removes unnecessary regulations from a number of professions that are currently required to pay licensing fees.?? Some of the
professions included in the bill are auctioneers, interior designers, ballroom dancers, and talent agents.?? Unnecessary licensing fees are simply a tax that prohibit a free-market and hinder economic opportunity.?? The Senate will now take up the bill.
AFP-FL issued a
press release last week applauding the House for their action on this important free-market issue.?? Please let the Senate know that it is important not to burden Floridians with regulations and fees.
Click here to contact your state senator.
ISSUE HIGLIGHT: PENSION REFORM
Pension reform has been one of the most heavily debated issues this year.?? Governor Scott unveiled an aggressive reform proposal after taking office, but the House and Senate had a lukewarm response.?? Both chambers have moved their own proposals.??
Just last week, the Senate further amended their provision making the disparities between the two bills even greater.?? We expect this debate to be key to the budget conference which will start this week?? Access talking points and an issue paper by the James
Madison Institute as to why pension reform is necessary for the future prosperity of our state
here.
Do you have a personal story on how unfunded pensions have personally affected you or your family??? Email us at
info.fl@afphq.org.
WHAT???S HAPPENING IN TALLAHASSEE
The legislature just finished the fifth week of session and is heading into the sixth.?? There are still a number of important issues to be debated, including the only constitutionally required action on their part ??? the budget.?? Last week
the House and Senate each passed their respective budgets; however they are $3.3 Billion apart.?? Considering there are only three more weeks of session remaining, it goes without saying that there are still a lot of debates and discussions to be had.
Read more about what happened last week in Tallahassee and what to expect in the week ahead here.
Follow AFP-FL on
Facebook and
Twitter for regular updates on what is happening in Tallahassee and Washington, as well as events going on around the state.
Don???t just delete this email once you???ve read it. Take a moment to forward to your friends, family and co-workers. If you got this email as a forward but would like to be added to our email list please visit our website at
www.AFPFlorida.com.
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