Florida Rep. Gaetz speaks to priorities for session

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, delivered an impassioned speech on his successes and failures during a monthly Republican Club meeting before heading to Tallahassee for the legislative session that began Jan. 10.

“I hope that my legacy is the opportunity to repeal more bills than I pass,”Gaetz said when discussing his successes.

One of his top priorities is to pass a bill that will forever end the ethanol mandate in Flori da.

“I always assumed the 10 percent ethanol on gas stick ers at the gas pumps was a federal mandate,” explained Gaetz. However, he discovered that this ethanol requirement is a state mandate.

“It takes more than one gallon of gasoline to generate one gallon of ethanol,” he said, adding that the state of Florida is essentially bearing the cost of and subsidizing corn farmers in Iowa, Indiana and other Midwestern states.

He described the law as a “feel good” piece of legislation that gives the appearance that we are transitioning to alternative energy so the “voters will like us.” However, it only hurts Floridians that use gasoline for everything from lawn equipment to cars to boats.

For more on this story, see the Jan. 12 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe.