SPC 1024 - Legislative Research

Identify all of your elected representatives (local, state and federal).

For City/County Commissioners: Check individual county and city/municipality official websites.

• Broward County- http://www.co.broward.fl.us/
• Miami Dade County- http://miamidade.gov/wps/portal
• Palm Beach County- http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/

For Local, State and Federal Legislators:

• My Precinct (Broward) -http://www.browardsoe.org/PrecinctFinder.aspx
• Miami Dade - http://elections.co.miami-dade.fl.us/
• My Precinct (Palm Beach) -http://www.pbcelections.org/PrecinctFinder.aspx

Guidelines For Writing a Professional Letter to Representatives

• The Florida Senate - Effective Communication with Your Legislators -http://www.flsenate.gov/
• Online Sunshine - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/
• Google - http://www.google.com

Identify Current Issues Being Legislated.

• Florida Newspapers -http://www.linccweb.org/eResources.asp?DB=newsfile&CID=03
• MyFlorida.com - http://www.myflorida.com/
• THOMAS (Library of Congress) - http://thomas.loc.gov/
• Congress.org - http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

Issues Past and Present

• Florida Legislature: Student Helping to Get Leftover Food to Homeless. (State)
  Miami Herald, The (FL) - January 9, 2008
  By Jennifer Lebovich, jlebovich@MiamiHerald.com
  A Miami Shores sixth-grader is behind a bill that would help restaurants and hotels donate leftover food to the homeless.
  
• Teen Drivers on Cells Worry Legislators. (State)
  By John Kennedy
  South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - November 25, 2007
  Florida may become the next state to bar drivers younger than 18 from using cell phones behind the wheel, with some legislators saying they're alarmed by teens text-messaging while driving. Senate Transportation Chairman Carey Baker, R-Eustis, and Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, have introduced legislation (SB504 and HB193) to make Florida the 18th state with such a ban.Legg says his legislation is homegrown."I'm the father of two teenagers who...
• Sagging Pants - Pull up your pants or face the consequences (City)
  Cities around the US such as Atlanta, Pine Bluff, Homestead, and Opa Locka, are proposing a city ordinance against young men/women wearing baggy/sagging pants. Most cities proposed having police issue citations to anyone who show their underwear on the city premises.
• Parasailing Regulations (Local and State)
  State Sen. Gwen Margolis D-Sunny Isles Beach, plans to fill a bill next year that would regulate the largely unsupervised parasailing industry.
• Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Federal)
  According to the Harris Interactive Survey, 89% of Americans agree that text messaging while driving should be banned. The state of Washington in May passed the first ban in the United States on texting while driving and at least six others states including Florida are considering similar legislation.

Updated by DT, 02/25/2008; rev JH, 5.30.08