AMBLER PRESS RELEASES

Secondary education students representing various Bay area schools will be traveling to Tallahassee tomorrow morning to lobby legislators and present House Bill 1141, Smoking in Vehicles with Minor Passengers, within a workshop in the Roads, Bridges & Ports Policy Committee as a part of State Representative Kevin C. Ambler’s “Ought to be a Law” (OTBAL) Student Legislation Program.

Selected students from the OTBAL program’s Student Legislation Delegation will be leaving for the capital from Armwood High School tomorrow morning at 6:15 a.m. with Armwood teacher Tony Pirotta chaperoning on the trip. Students will spend tomorrow afternoon meeting with the members of the House Roads, Bridges & Ports Policy Committee at their Capitol offices to answer any questions or address any concerns that the Representatives have regarding the students’ legislation that they will be hearing the following day in Committee. The House Roads Committee will be meeting from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 25th in room 404 of the House Office Building. Fadwa Hilili (Tampa Bay Technical HS), Lacie Browning (Durant HS), Rebekah Morffi (Bloomingdale SHS), Aaron Santana (Bloomingdale SHS), and Emily Sukloff (Bloomingdale SHS) will be presenting a prepared PowerPoint presentation to the Committee about the bill.

State Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa) is proud to announce that the 2010 “Ought to be a Law” (OTBAL) student legislation, which is titled Smoking in Vehicles with Minor Passengers, was officially filed in the Florida House of Representatives last night (February 18). The next step in the process is for the bill to be referred to its various Committees and Councils in the Florida House.

House Bill 1141 provides that it is unlawful for any person to be smoking in a vehicle in this state if a minor under 16 years of age is also present in the vehicle. The violation is secondary in nature, and it will be an enhanced penalty, which will be an additional $100 fine assessed to the traffic violation already received by the motorist.

Today, House Bill 697 (HB 697), the Entertainment Industry Economic Development Act unanimously passed the House Economic Development Policy Committee. HB 697, sponsored by Representatives Steve Precourt, Jennifer Carroll, and Kevin Ambler, is an innovative proposal to stimulate job growth within the state of Florida. The tax credit program, also sponsored by Senate President-Designate Mike Haridopolos, levels the playing field for Florida to once again compete in the emerging economic cluster of film and digital media production.

State Representative Kevin Ambler’s (R-Tampa) “Ought to be a Law” (OTBAL) Town Hall and Student Legislation Program will commence with the Student Town Hall portion of the innovative civic education program this Saturday, January 23, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hillsborough County Public Schools Building located at 901 E. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Tampa.

For the past five school years, Representative Ambler has invited the thousands of high school students attending Hillsborough County Public Schools to participate in the OTBAL program which ensures that these students have the opportunity to effect positive change in Florida’s government by proposing a bill idea to be sponsored by Rep. Ambler and State Senator Victor Crist in the upcoming legislative session. This year, the program has expanded to not only include Hillsborough County Public School students, but OTBAL also has program participation from Hillsborough County high school students who are homeschooled or are attending private or charter schools in the county.

Florida State Representative Kevin Ambler and Senator Paula Dockery visited the ASI Show in Orlando and discussed the future of Florida’s economy and one of their favorite promotional items – the vinyl bumper sticker.

Mr. Ambler said forecasters predict that Florida’s economy will start to rebound in the summer of 2010 and that Florida is resilient. He encouraged small-business owners to contact their banks to work out possible solutions to any credit issues they are experiencing. In addition, Mr. Ambler noted that his favorite promotional item is the tried-and-true bumper sticker – which he said accounts for about three to six votes for a candidate.

The exclusive interview, conducted by Andy Cohen, executive with the Advertising Specialty Institute, is available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akpre66Ba5s.

State Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa) announced his support for high speed rail in the state of Florida before his affirmative vote in the Florida House of Representatives yesterday on House Bill 1B in the second Special Session of the year, with the recognition that building public infrastructure is a core function of government, and that rail is an innovative, energy efficient and clean form of transportation.

Representative Ambler commented that, “Regardless of whether or not we receive future federal support, this legislation stands on its own. Moving forward today with this proposal is important for Florida’s transportation future and is a good investment. The restoration of our state’s economy is a top priority, and the plan that we have now will allow us to leverage the State of Florida’s financial investment into a 3 to 1 match, since the proposed SunRail project is a partnership between the federal government, Florida Department of Transportation and local governments. If this state investment leads to an additional expected $2.6 billion for rail in Florida, the state’s match increases to 6 to 1. There are very few investments the state can make that can be leveraged to that degree. ”

State Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa), candidate for State Senate, District 12, hosted an impressive Campaign Kick-Off event Wednesday night at Shula’s Steak House in Tampa, Florida. NFL Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino was on hand to headline the evening, having flown in from doing an HBO Special in New York to offer his official personal endorsement of Ambler for the Florida Senate. “Rep. Ambler has been a tremendous legislative champion for us in our fight to find the cause and cure for autism, and in our battle to improve coverage for those afflicted with this condition. “ Marino said to a standing-room only crowd of Ambler supporters. “He was able to help us achieve what we have been working for over 12 years to accomplish in the legislature.” As Health Care Appropriations Chairman overseeing nearly one third of the State’s budget this past year, Rep. Ambler worked closely with Marino on issues affecting the autism community in Florida, including getting approval and funding for a new Autism specialty license plate for Florida and working on a bill giving parents the right to know more about vaccines before they are given to their children. He also worked closely with Marino’s non-profit foundation last year to pass legislation to expand coverage for necessary therapies for autistic children. Marino, who has an autistic son, heads up the Governor’s Task Force on Autism and The Dan Marino Foundation, a non-profit group for autism research and awareness.

Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa) would like to invite all those that are interested to join him in supporting the Bayshore Patriots in honoring America’s fallen heroes who lost their lives on September 11th, by participating in a spectacular showing of patriotism of waiving the American flag on Bayshore Boulevard this afternoon from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Bay to Bay in Tampa. This location is symbolic because it will be along a stretch of road that will allow the flag waivers to be seen by the thousands of men and women departing MacDill Air Force Base at the end of their duty day.

Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Lutz) was presented with the 2009 Florida Chiropractic Association D.I. Rainey Award at the Association’s Annual Convention held in Orlando, FL this past weekend. This distinguished award was presented by Jack Hebert, Government Relations Director for the FCA. The Florida Chiropractic Association was established in 1931 with a core mission of protecting the welfare of its members by advocating on their behalf throughout the State and educating the public on issues relating to the chiropractic profession.

Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Lutz) was presented with the 2009 Florida Health Care Association Legislator of the Year Award at the Association’s Annual Convention held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. This distinguished award was presented by Debbie Franklin, President of the FHCA from Brandon, FL and Scott Allen, Legislative Chair of the FHCA, from Tampa, FL. The Florida Health Care Association is Florida’s first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly that they serve.

Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa) received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Florida Assisted Living Association (FALA) on August 20, 2009, at the FALA Annual Conference & Trade Show at the Sanibel Harbour Resort in Fort Myers, Florida.

Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Lutz) has received the 2009 Safety Net Hospital Alliance Hero Award, an honor that is given to one Legislator each year. The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida advocates on behalf of Florida's 14 safety net systems in an effort to continue their mission of providing quality health care throughout Florida. Alliance member hospitals, many of which have been recognized among America's best, include Tampa General Hospital, Jackson Memorial Health System, Shands Health System, Orlando Regional, Broward Health, Miami Children's Hospital and All Children's Hospital.

Rep. Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa), whose legislative district includes the Lowry Park Zoo, has invited other members of the Hillsborough Legislative Delegation, representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and other policy makers who are interested and directly involved in the protection and rehabilitation of manatees to a meeting at the Lowry Park Zoo on Monday, August 15, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Today, April 22, Representative Kevin Ambler (R-Tampa) and the Hillsborough County high school students who make up the Student Legislative Council presented Senate Bill 2678, Tyler’s Bill for Mandatory Education, to the Senate Committee on Community Affairs, and Tyler’s Bill passed through the Committee with a unanimous vote of 9-0.

On March 31, 2008, Representative Kevin C. Ambler (R-Tampa) and Hillsborough County Public Schools Board Members were honored with a first place award in the American School Board Journal’s 14th annual Magna Awards program held at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando yesterday afternoon.