State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) announced that he will hold mobile office hours on Monday, February 27, 2016 in St. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg.
Mobile office hours allow constituents an extra opportunity to meet with the Senator and discuss issues within the community. Senator Brandes’ mobile office hours are open to the public, and no appointment is necessary.
DATE: Monday, February 27
TIME: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Regatta Room, University Student Center
University of South Florida St. Petersburg
200 6th Ave South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
DATE: Monday, February 27
TIME: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce
6990 Gulf Blvd.
St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
Senator Brandes represents Senate District 24 in the Florida Senate, where he serves as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development.
Sen. Jeff Brandes
Senator Brandes files bill on health data donation
Legislation will enable individuals to donate health records
Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) today filed SB 804, electronic health records, establishing a mechanism to enable individuals to anonymously donate their health records for the purposes of educating or developing diagnoses, treatment choices, policies, health care system designs, and innovations to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs.
“The healthcare industry has moved to electronic medical records and there is now an opportunity to use enhanced analytic tools to study those records,” stated Senator Brandes. “Donating our healthcare data enables large, sophisticated studies of a wide range of health records. This bill will leave a lasting impact for future generations, and Florida will lead the nation in healthcare innovation.”
Under the proposed bill, a person may donate all or part of their electronic health records or qualified electronic health records anonymously. An individual may do so either by signing an electric health records donor card, indicating the intent to donate health records on their driver license or identification card, expressing a wish to donate in a living will or advance directive, expressing a wish to donate in a will, or expressing a wish to donate in a document other than a will that meets certain criteria. The legislation will make a repository of anonymized health records available to researchers to contribute to further innovative advances in health treatments and medicines.
For more information on SB 804, please visit: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0804.
Senators Brandes and Rouson file driver license suspension bill
Reform legislation will end suspension of driver licenses for non-driving related offenses
Senators Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) and Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) today filed Senate Bill 302, related to penalties and fees, to reduce the number of driver licenses suspended in Florida each year. The legislation would end suspension of licenses for non-driving related offenses and is expected to significantly reduce the large number of suspensions that take place each year.
“Florida suspends hundreds of thousands of licenses each year, often because a person is saddled with debt for fines that may have nothing to do with driving,” stated Senator Brandes. “With compounding fees and collections costs, the prospect of reinstating a license may seem insurmountable to some of the poorest in our communities. This bill provides people with an opportunity to regain mobility, find employment, and get their lives back on track.”
“This comprehensive bill is a long overdue reform with strong, bipartisan support”, said Senator Rouson, who sponsored similar legislation in the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. “The time has come to address this issue head-on, and I look forward to working with our colleagues in the House and the Senate to advance this common-sense legislation for the hardworking families of our community.”
In 2016, Senator Brandes and then-Representatives Rouson, Steube, and Young sponsored similar legislation to Senate Bill 302. The bill prohibits suspension of a driver license for various offenses that are unrelated to driving. Individuals who would have their licenses suspended for many financial related reasons will instead be issued a hardship license. The reform package modifies current law relating to debt collection for unpaid fees or fines, and clearly establishes the right of a defendant in financial hardship to use community service as an alternative method of payment. Finally, the bill eliminates the felony criminal charge for a third or subsequent offense for driving on a license that was suspended because of a defendant’s financial hardship.
For more information on SB 302 please visit http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0302.
