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Commissioner’s Message

From the Desk of Commissioner Heather Moraitis

lease join us for a special water bill update meeting on Monday, July 8th from
6PM - 7PM at the Beach Community Center in the Galt. We will present an
Pupdate on the water meter audit, water rate study, prorating the cost of an
irrigation meter, and the digital meter installation plan.
Brief Recap of How The 2019 Legislative Session Affects Our Residents
I am committed to working with the county, state, and federal government to ensure
our concerns are addressed at all levels of government. I spent time with legislators
and the Governor’s office in Tallahassee during session advocating against a
vacation rental bill that gave the city less control and advocating for a bill to get
motorized scooters off of sidewalks. Both efforts were successful and I thank Rep.
Chip LaMarca for his support. I also spent time with the Commissioner of
Education’s office discussing the plans for the new aviation high school I am
proposing in collaboration with the Executive Airport in District 1.
The Legislature passed a budget which provides $250,000 in funding, requested
Heather Moraitis from the City of Fort Lauderdale, for the Homeless Collaborative of Broward County.
District I Commissioner This project is a collaboration between the United Way of Broward County, the City
of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.
Vacation Rentals (Failed)
Local government advocates were able to prevent the Senate bill that further
preempted local vacation rentals ordinances from being heard in its first committee
of reference. The bill would have also invalidated ordinances that had been
previously passed before 2011 and taken authority from HOAs.

Scooters (Passed)
The Legislature passed a bill that would create a regulatory framework to authorize
motorized scooters and place them under the same road requirements as a bicycle
(i.e. get them off sidewalks and into bike lanes.) The final language allowed local
governments to retain full regulatory authority over roads and sidewalks.

Texting While Driving (Passed)
The House voted 108-7 and Senate voted 33-5 to make texting while driving a
primary offense.
Sober Homes and Substance Abuse Treatment (Passed)
The Legislature unanimously passed legislation from the Sober Home Task Force. The
bill continues to tighten up sober home standards and address unintended
consequences of past legislation. The bill strengthens patient brokering and
deceptive practices statutes, provides for certification and background checks of
peer specialists, expands background check requirements for recovery residence
administrative personnel and expands violations eligible for exemption, and covers
residences that have day/night treatment centers.

K-12 Education (Passed)
The Senate voted 23-17 and House voted 76-39 to advance a bill that implements many
of the priorities announced by the Senate and Governor earlier this Session on school
choice on the premise that access to a high-quality education should not be based on zip
code. The bill creates the Family Empowerment Tax Credit program that expands publicly
funded (through business tax credits) vouchers for children to attend private schools.

14 The Landings & Bay Colony