Reps to lead energy, insurance issues

With new committee assignments announced Wednesday, area state lawmakers will be well positioned to promote renewable energy, reign in insurance costs and set budget priorities in the coming session.

Several of the six-member Charlotte County legislative delegation said they hope to use some of their key assignments to consider programs to spur such alternative energy sources as bio-diesel, ethyl alcohol, solar and solid waste.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, in particular, said he was thrilled that Senate President Ken Pruitt appointed him chairman of the Communications and Public Utilities Committee. The post will allow Bennett to set renewable energy as a top priority, he said.

He called it his "most important" committee assignment.

"Pretty much since I've been elected, I've been fighting to have renewable energy become the priority," he said. "If we don't do something about renewable energy, we're going to be fighting wars for 100 years and all we'll be doing is polluting the atmosphere."

Charlotte's delegation also includes Senators Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey, and Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Green Acres, and Reps. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, Mike Grant, R-Port Charlotte, and Gary Aubuchon, a Cape Coral Republican who replaced Lt. Gov.-elect Jeff Kottkamp.

Here's a look at their committee assignments:

* Carlton: Senate President Pro-tempore, chairwoman of the Fiscal Policy and Calendar Committee, member of the Agriculture and Education K-12 committees, and member of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission.

* Bennett: chairman of the Joint Administrative Procedures and Criminal Justice committees, and member of Banking and Insurance, General Government Appropriations, Responsible Regulation Policy, Calendar and Higher Education committees.

* Aronberg: one of only five Democrats appointed to a chairmanship. He will chair the Everglades Oversight Committee. He also will serve as vice chairman of the Criminal Justice and Communications and Public Utilities committees, and as a member of the Regulated Industries, Law and Justice Policy and Calendar, Responsible Regulation Policy, Health Regulation and Calendar committees.

* Kreegel: vice chairman of the Committee on Energy, member of the Environment & Natural Resources Council, Health Quality and Financial Institutions committees.

* Grant: vice chairman of the Government Efficiency & Accountability Council, and member of the Healthy Families, Urban & Local Affairs and Economic Development committees and the Policy & Budget Council.

* Aubuchon: vice chairman of the Economic Development committee.

House Speaker Marco Rubio likely chose Kreegel for the energy committee because of his interest in agriculture and science, Kreegel said. Kreegel is a medical doctor who owns an 80-acre ranch east of Punta Gorda.

Kreegel said he's been reading about alternative energy sources in agricultural journals. The ideas include turning algae into fuel.

"That's the current rage," said Kreegel of bio-fuels. "I hope it can live up to its promise."

Solar power seems suited to Florida, he added.

"If we're able to make farmland economically viable as an energy source, that would provide another way to stop urban sprawl," he said.

Grant also said he hopes to pursue alternative energy goals through one of his committee assignments.

"We're looking at making Florida as independent of foreign oil as we possibly can," he said.

The state should establish a renewable energy research institute to turn ideas into reality, added Bennett.

Bennett said he also expects to use his appointment to the higher education committee to lobby for a Florida Gulf Coast University campus in Charlotte County.

"One of the reasons I wanted that particular committee was to make sure we do have a branch campus in Charlotte County," Bennett said.

He said he would prefer a Murdock site because that would "stop urban sprawl."

Aronberg said he was "grateful" that the Senate president trusted him with the Everglades oversight chairmanship. Pruitt sees Everglades restoration as a top priority, Aronberg said.

The committee was created out of "frustration" over the federal government's failure to fund its share of Everglades restoration, Aronberg said.

"The state has lived up to its commitments, but the federal government has not," he said. "This is something that I think is inexcusable, and I'm intending to find out why."

Grant said his economic and budget committee memberships will allow him to pursue his goal of promoting a robust economy for Southwest Florida.

"I think we did fantastically well," said Grant of all the delegation member's assignments. "I think its a foregone conclusion we have one of the strongest delegations in the state."

The Charlotte County Legislative Delegation holds its annual public hearing today from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Punta Gorda Isles Civic Association center, 2001 Shreve St., Punta Gorda.

The hearing allows constituents and local government representatives to recommend legislation and budget requests for the next legislative session, which begins in March.

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