HOUSE AMENDMENT Bill No. HM 783
1	CHAMBER ACTION
2	Senate House
3	.
4	.
5	.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12	Representative Ritter offered the following:
13
14	Substitute Amendment for Amendment (759541) (with directory
15	and title amendments)
16	Remove everything after the resolving clause, and insert:
17
18	That the Legislature of the State of Florida requests each
19	member of the Florida delegation to the 108th United States
20	Congress to support and vote to enact the Economic Recovery Act
21	of 2003.
22
23	================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =================
24	Remove the entire title, and insert:
25	House Memorial
26	A Memorial to the Members of the Florida Delegation to the
27	Congress of the United States, urging such members of
28	Congress to support and vote to enact the Economic
29	Recovery Act of 2003
30
31	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 has proposed an
32	economic growth and tax relief plan designed to strengthen the
33	American economy, provide immediate and critical middle-class
34	tax relief, provide financial aid to states and deliver critical
35	help to unemployed citizens, and
36	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 will provide
37	every American adult with an immediate $300 tax cut and allow
38	every American family to tax an additional $300 for up to two
39	children, providing a $1200 tax cut for families of four, and
40	WHEREAS, the Florida Chamber of Commerce reported that the
41	number of small businesses offering health insurance has dropped
42	from 91 percent in 1999 to 76 percent today, forcing many
43	Floridians to go without health insurance, and
44	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 provides much
45	needed assistance to small businesses by allowing small
46	businesses to take a 50 percent tax credit to offset their
47	health insurance costs, and
48	WHEREAS, in many rural communities, the lack of access to
49	broadband technology is hampering efforts to recruit high-wage,
50	high-tech jobs, and
51	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 provides a 20
52	percent tax credit for businesses investing in broadband
53	internet infrastructure in rural and underserved areas, and
54	WHEREAS, the additional costs of homeland security are
55	draining local government budgets and without additional
56	assistance from the federal government, many communities will be
57	required to raise taxes on their citizens, and
58	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 provides $5
59	billion to states to help communities fund key homeland security
60	priorities, including funding for emergency planning, transit
61	security, fire communications systems, smallpox vaccine programs
62	and 25,000 new police, firefighters, emergency medical
63	technicians and other first responders, and
64	WHEREAS, an additional $6 billion will be provided to fund
65	the programs enacted in the No Child Left Behind Act, ensuring
66	that every classroom has a qualified teacher and providing
67	critical funding for after-school and summer school programs,
68	and
69	WHEREAS, an additional $29 billion will be provided to help
70	states with their budget priorities, including additional
71	funding for Medicaid shortfalls and highway infrastructure, and
72	WHEREAS, the State of Florida is facing an estimated budget
73	deficit of between $2 and $4 billion, and stands to receive
74	funding, if proportioned by population, of approximately $2
75	billion, from the Economic Recovery Act of 2003, and
76	WHEREAS, these funds could be used to fund the class size
77	and prekindergarten amendments to Florida’s constitution and
78	carry the will of the people, and
79	WHEREAS, the Economic Recovery Act of 2003 is fiscally
80	sound and will not accelerate current federal budget deficits,
81	which are already reaching record levels of over $300,000,000
82	annually, NOW, THEREFORE,