State Sen. Keith Perry (R-Gainesville) highlighted his efforts to promote music education and concluded his 14th consecutive year in Congress in a public interview with Main Street Daily News on Wednesday. looked back.
Perry served in the Florida House of Representatives for six years and was twice elected to the Florida Senate. He completed his last legislative session in March, and term limits mean he will leave office after the November election.
Perry spoke in a public interview with Congressman Main Street in Gainesville, capping a series of interviews that included state Rep. Chuck Clemons (R-Newberry) and state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson (D-Gainesville). Ta.
In addition to his music endeavors, Perry also spoke about his desire to improve Florida's term limits law and the anti-squatter legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 27th.
Perry said his position on Senate President Kathleen Passidomo's leadership team gave him more influence in the past legislative session.
“It's a select group that she has chosen to be her best friends, so she has more clout and influence,” Perry said.
He also chaired the Education Appropriations Committee, which controls the second-largest budget in Congress.
During his tenure, Perry spearheaded fundraising efforts to build music facilities at the university, which he said lagged behind even those at the high school. He urged Congress to pass $35 million in 2023, and this year's budget included $20 million for schools. The budget still needs the governor's approval, and Perry said the music funding could be subject to a veto because of its size.
Perry noted that many of the students who attend UF for its distinctive STEM program also have a background in music. He said he marketed the budget as an enhancement to his STEM programs at the university while also enhancing space for music-focused students.
“When we hire great engineering students, most of them have music in their background,” Perry said. “The best chemistry, the best pre-med. You find that music in really smart kids is like an underlying talent that they all have.”
Perry also started a music pilot program in elementary schools. The program includes research into its impact, and Perry said the curriculum helped engage students while incorporating math and other concepts.
Perry also said efforts to secure $38 million for UF to purchase more than 2,500 acres west of Gainesville will also receive scrutiny from the governor. As part of the deal, the land is planned to be preserved along with a 36-hole golf course.
“This would be high on the governor's list of potential vetoes,” Perry said. “I don't know if that's going to happen.”
While some local residents have expressed concerns about the golf course's presence in a strategic ecosystem, Perry is confident IFAS and UF will protect the land and manage the property. said.
Perry also sponsored a bill this year that would give property owners more power to deal with squatters. The bill received unanimous approval in both houses.
The bill would allow property owners to sign an affidavit certifying that the squatter has no relationship to the owner, including no family ties or rental history. Law enforcement can then remove the person.
Perry pointed out that if a property owner lies on an affidavit and evicts someone who had reason to be on the property, they could face criminal charges.
“We're not behind on payments,” Perry said. “They're in the country illegally. I told them in the House debate, 'I want to call this a relocation bill, a bill that would relocate you from the prisons where you're in the country illegally. is.”
Perry said this is not an issue posed by voters or lobbyists. He said his wife saw an article about squatters in Jacksonville and argued that Mr. Perry should help solve the problem.
In Tallahassee, Perry found two other representatives working on the issue, who also joined the effort. Looking back at the bill, he said he would like to change provisions that still require property owners to notify squatters because of the potential danger to homeowners. Perry said he wanted to remove the provision but ran out of time during the session.
Mr. Perry echoed the views on term limits that Mr. Hinson shared in an interview last week. He said term limits give power to lobbyists, who can push legislation to new representatives who haven't yet learned the system.
Perry said he had previously tried to pass legislation that would extend term limits to 12 years (two six-year terms for the Senate and three four-year terms for the House). However, this bill was not persuasive.
Perry said he only received condemnation at the Capitol, even though most people agreed when he explained the situation.
“I was distracting people by reading blogs about me as if I were Castro in Cuba,” Perry said.
Perry said he believes current term limits are safe for now because the issue would require a referendum, which would be difficult to enact.
At the end of their terms, Perry and Clemons will be leaving the Alachua County delegation. Perry said that could lead to less attention from the Legislature to Gainesville Area Public Works.
He noted that state Sen. Jennifer Bradley lives in Clay County and represents northern Alachua County as part of her district. Perry's potential successor, Stan McClain, lives in Marion County and will represent southern Alachua County. Clemmons' potential successor, Chad Johnson, lives in Levy County and would also represent western Alachua County if elected by voters.
Perry said this could draw less attention to Alachua County.
“I'm not saying they don't care, but they only have so much time and bandwidth to address the problem,” Perry said. “So I don't know that [GRU governance] It's going to be a big problem. ”
