TOM LEE’S TALLAHASSEE

Tom Lee left the Florida Senate in 2020 before he was termlimited. It was an unusual move, brought on, in part, from what Lee says was groupthink that had taken over the Capital. His three ways to make things work better and smoother and fix Tallahassee include:

n Florida’s Constitution created a Legislature designed to work for their constituents, not the Executive Branch. Legislative term limits, 2002 cabinet reforms and other changes in our political process have combined to erode the independence of our Legislature. Florida is a culturally, ideologically and economically diverse state. Floridians would be well served by constitutional and legislative reforms that restore the equal voice of locally elected legislators in crafting public policy for our state.

n Florida should continue to address the insurance affordability crisis in our state . After 30 years, the evidence is mounting that the problem cannot be solved simply by expanding our government run insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance,. and legislative reforms that cut coverage and consumer protections in exchange for lower premiums. Unfortunately, the meteorology of our state is simply too volatile. Florida domestic insurers are paying roughly 50% of every premium dollar to purchase reinsurance, often in offshore unregulated markets (that) are price-based on losses from natural disasters around the globe. To attract more private sector capital to the Florida insurance market and shrink Citizens, our state government should fully release the rate stabilizing power of the Florida Hurricane CAT fund to reinsure domestic carriers at actuarially sound rates using the same policy assessment backstops afforded to Citizens. Done right, this would not expand the taxpayer’s exposure or jeopardize Florida AAA bond rate, but it would dramatically and immediately roll back rates.

n Florida is a great place to live, work and raise a family, but we risk becoming a victim of our own success. Florida has grown rapidly and has struggled to keep pace with essential infrastructure. As a result, our cost of living has outstripped wage growth and affordability has become an impediment to continued economic development. Florida should look to develop a more sustainable growth management law using economic modeling that prioritizes quality over quantity, encourages growth that pays for itself and development that brings more benefits than burdens to our state.