Representatives Roth and Caruso Give their Views on the 2024 Session

Representative Mike Caruso, RCPB President Kim Davis, JID Commissioner Jim Davis, Representative Rick Roth

On Tuesday, May 28th, Representatives Rick Roth and Mike Caruso gave us their impressions of the accomplishments of this year’s legislative session.

As each legislator has their particular areas of focus, each had a different list of highlights. Here are the major items they discussed:

• 207 bills so far signed by the Governor, with 27 awaiting approval and 77 more to be presented to him
• Home schooling has really accelerated under the school choice framework – 77K 10 years ago is now 155K
• 2/3 of the house is republican – the reason we can pass such important legislation
• There was a focus on public safety this year, including:
  • HB1365 – Unauthorized public camping and public sleeping – sets minimum standards for a county to allow homeless encampments
  • HB49 – relaxed rules on hours worked for 16 and 17 year olds
  • HB621 – allows for the efficient eviction of squatters
  • HB549 – reduces threshold for felony theft to $40 from $750 and targets “group retail theft”
  • HB75 – raises penalties for impeding, threatening or harassing 1st responders
  • HB1451 – no ID cards for illegals issued by out of state jurisdictions accepted (issuing them already banned in Florida)
  • HB1036 – enhanced penalty for illegals returning after being deported

• $117B budget, 40% health care, $22B for agriculture
• HB1 – Keeping roads open when closed by protestors
• HB7073 – cuts business rental tax to 2% from 4.5%
• HB1611 – reduced lawsuits against insurance companies and lower taxes on insurance
• CS/SB 7028 – up to $10K to harden homes under “my safe homes”
• HB3 – limit access to social media for under 14
• HB1403 – increases school choice with additional voucher programs
• SB184 – protects 1st responders – stay 20′ back

As reference material, Representative Roth provided his written notes on the session which are available HERE.

The meeting included some elected officials – County Commissioner Sara Baxter and Jupiter Inlet Commissioner Jim Davis were in attendance along with the two representatives.

Candidates introducing themselves included:

Joe LaFauci for State Committeeman
Jody Schwartz and Tami Donnally for State Committeewoman
Anthony Aguirre for House District 94
Michael Gauger for County Sheriff
Deborah Adeimy for Congressional District 22

President’s Council Red White and Blue BBQ

In lieu of holding a meeting in June, we are asking our members to attend the Republican Club President’s Council Barbeque on Saturday June 15th. Many of the federal, state and local candidates will speak in addition to Peter Ticktin’s anecdotes about former (and next) President Donald Trump. The club will have a tent at the event, so drop by and say hello!

May Meeting – Session Review with Representatives Roth and Caruso

Please join us on Tuesday May 28th for

A Review of the 2024 Florida Legislative Session

District 94 Representative Rick Roth
and

District 87 Representative Mike Caruso

Representative Rick Roth is the current representative for District 94, which encompasses most of the western part of Palm Beach county, including the Glades cities, Westlake, Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee Groves and the parts of Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens west of the turnpike. Rick is term limited this year and has completed his eighth Legislative Session since his election in 2016 in what was then district 85. He currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County.

With a degree in Mathematics from Emory University, Rick became President and principal owner of his family’s farming operation in 1986. Today, he is primary owner of both Roth Farms Inc., a diversified vegetables, sugar cane, and rice farming operation and Rays Heritage LLC., a vertically integrated state of the art packinghouse and sales operation in Palm Beach County. Rick has served in numerous leadership roles in his community, including on the Board of Directors for the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida.

Representative Mike Caruso is the current representative for District 87, a coastal district running from Juno Beach south to Manalapan and including parts of Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Lake Park and Jupiter. Prior to the redistricting in 2022, Mike served two terms in district 89 which includes parts of Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

With a degree in Business Administration from George Washington University and several years as a CPA at KPMG and Grant Thornton, Mike opened his own CPA firm, Caruso & Caruso in Palm Beach County. He is deeply entrenched in the community both personally and professionally. In addition to his professional work as a CPA, he owns several residential and commercial properties throughout the county and is the CFO of Delray Beach Executive Suites. Mike has used his skills to benefit the community, serving on many community organization boards, and serving as an expert witness in many local and national court cases as a forensic accountant.