State Senator Debbie Mayfield – Mayfield Minute 02/18/24

Feb 20 2024

State Senator Debbie Mayfield – Mayfield Minute 02/18/24

Good Morning!

For many, Presidents’ Day means a day off from work and school and having a three-day weekend. In 1885, Congress designated February 22nd George Washington’s birthday as a holiday for all federal workers in honor of our first President. In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Law changed the date to the third Monday in February. In doing so, that positioned the holiday between Washington’s birthday of February 22nd and Lincoln’s birthday of February 12th, and gave rise to the popular name of “Presidents’ Day.” Today, Presidents’ Day is seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all of our presidents.

Sadly, last week also marked the sixth anniversary of the horrific February 14, 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy. Seventeen innocent lives were lost at the hands of a ruthless criminal. On that day, students, teachers, and faculty showed great courage in the face of danger.

As Governor DeSantis ordered flags at half staff from sunrise to sunset this past Wednesday he stated, “Students, teachers and faculty showed great courage in the face of danger. The sacrifices of these heroes, as well as the brave actions of first responders, will never be forgotten.”

I consider it a great honor to represent District 19. Please share this link with your friends and family so they too, can sign up for the Mayfield Minute.

If you or someone you know needs my assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my office. My staff and I are here to serve you!

Statewide Update

Retail Theft and “Porch Piracy” Occurring Nationally Leads to More Legislative Action in Florida

Last week, Governor DeSantis announced proposed legislative action to combat the national trend of retail theft and porch piracy.

In 2022, retailers across the country lost $112 billion to retail theft with sharp increases in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. In Florida, shoplifting has decreased by 30% since Governor DeSantis took office.

“If you commit a crime in Florida, you are going to be held accountable,” said Governor DeSantis. “We will not tolerate retail crime, porch pirates and the lawlessness that they allow in California and New York.”

Governor DeSantis proposed the following:

Third degree felony if you commit retail theft with five or more individuals.
Second degree felony if criminals use social media to solicit others to participate in retail theft.
First degree felony if an individual commits retail theft with a firearm or has already had two or more prior convictions of retail theft.
Reducing the stolen property value necessary to charge criminals with a felony for stealing delivered packages.

More information on the legislation is below in the Senate Update.

The National Hurricane Center is Launching a New Version of the Traditional Hurricane Forecast Cone

With just over 100 days to the start of the 2024 Hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) plans to launch an update to the existing forecast cone to provide a better sense of potential wind hazards for inland areas.

Currently the NHC forecast cone only shows watches and warnings for hurricanes and tropical storms at the coastline, according to Assistant Professor of Meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Rob Eicher.

“Had this new graphic been operational during the time of Hurricane Ian, you would have noticed the entire state of Florida lit up in watches and warnings,” Eicher said. “So anyone in Florida would have known, hey, I need to pay attention to this, not just people at the coastline.”

Be sure to follow the Mayfield Minute as the introduction of the new NHC forecast cone will be shared here as soon as available.

Governor and First Lady DeSantis Award $20 Million to Support Innovative Cancer Research

Last week, Governor DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced $20 million in awards to Florida researchers as part of the Cancer Innovation Fund for projects promoting cancer innovation, research, and lifesaving care.

“Funding innovation in cancer research and care has been a priority of this administration,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Through our historic investments in the treatment of cancer, we are keeping Florida patients and clinicians at the forefront of the mission to fight back against this terrible disease.”

“Florida is unleashing the power of innovation against cancer,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “While technology improves at an exponential rate, it can take years for patients to get access to new treatments. With this funding, Florida is bolstering state-of-the-art research to detect and fight cancer.”

Following the announcement, members of the Cancer Connect Collaborative held a roundtable to discuss how Florida is fostering cancer innovation and cancer research including:

Utilizing Biomarkers to Detect Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer can have a devastating prognosis with limited therapeutic options, in part due to early metastasis – oftentimes with a survival rate of less than a year. This project will work to distinguish biomarkers to support early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by providing a resource for detection of pancreatic cancer in available patient samples.

Improving Rural Access to Breast Cancer Screenings

This project fosters innovation through a Florida university consortium (University of West Florida, Florida A&M University, University of Miami, University of Florida) to increase access to breast cancer screenings in rural areas of the Panhandle. The goal is to enhance early detection among rural women who would otherwise not receive preventative care, increasing their risk of mortality.

To watch the full press conference, click here.

Senate Update

Senate Appropriation Committee on Health and Human Services

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services passed Senate Bill 330, sponsored by Senator Jim Boyd, with unanimous support.

A critical component of the Florida Senate’s Live Healthy Legislative Agenda, Senate Bill 330 provides a targeted approach to address workforce shortages in mental health care with behavioral health teaching hospitals throughout Florida. This legislation supports a coordinated system of care to offer specific treatment and services, develops integrated workforce development programs, and promotes strategic partnerships between educational institutions and behavioral health clinics.

These behavioral health teaching hospitals will help Florida to recruit, grow, and retain the next generation of professionals in innovative and integrated care for those with behavioral health needs.

SB 330 also established the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce to examine issues of workforce supply and demand, recruitment, retention, and other workforce needs.

The next stop for SB 330 is Senate Appropriations.

Senate Committee on Rules

The Senate Committee on Rules passed Senate Bill 1618, sponsored by Senator Jonathan Martin, with unanimous support. This legislation empowers law enforcement officers, victims, and their families to ensure sexual predators are punished for their deplorable crimes.

SB 1618 allows for the parent or legal guardian of a child to intercept and record a phone conversation between their child and a suspected sexual predator. Currently, any recorded cell phone conversations, by anyone other than the victim of these types of offenses, are not admissible as evidence in a criminal proceeding. SB 1618 allows these recordings to be reported to law enforcement and provided as evidence in court proceedings.

The next stop for SB 1618 is the Senate Floor.

Senate Appropriations Committee on Education

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Education passed Senate Bill 1396, sponsored by Senator Joe Gruters, with unanimous support. This legislation establishes a program to provide security funding for Jewish Day Schools.

SB 1396 builds upon House Bill 7C, passed during the 2023C Special Legislative Session, to enhance security measures at Jewish Day Schools with $25 million in funding.

SB 1396 empowers the Florida Department of Education and Jewish Day Schools with recurring funding that can be used for security cameras, shatter-resistant glass, fencing, security personnel, and other hardening or non-hardening security measures.

Since the barbaric attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, America has seen an exponential increase in vile acts of antisemitism across the country, especially in education.

The next stop for SB 1396 is Fiscal Policy.

Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice passed Senate Bill 1222, sponsored by Senator Jay Trumbull, with bipartisan support. This legislation protects the inherent property rights of Florida’s families and businesses while holding criminals accountable.

SB 1222 cracks down on retail theft and porch pirating through enhanced penalties for the criminals that have unleashed lawlessness on communities across the country. This legislation specifically targets criminals who participate in “smash-and-grab” robberies where a large group of criminals overtake a small business and steal thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise; and “porch pirating” where criminals steal packages from the doorsteps of Floridians.

SB 1222 requires criminals to pay restitution for both stolen property and the cost of repairing damage that occurred during the robbery and establishes felony thresholds for these crimes.

The next stop for SB 1222 is Fiscal Policy.

Florida Senate Votes to Secure America’s Southern Border

The Florida Senate passed Senate Memorial 598, sponsored by Senator Blaise Ingoglia, with bipartisan support. This memorial urges the federal government to enforce current immigration laws and secure our Southern border.

The willful and systemic refusal of the Biden Administration to enforce immigration laws has allowed for a crisis that impacts every community across the nation.

Illegal immigrants have overrun our Southern border resulting in an influx of weapons, human trafficking, unvetted individuals and those associated with drug cartels, Fentanyl trafficking, and other contraband that devastates families and communities, resulting in a significant security and financial burden on Florida’s taxpayers.

Honoring the Life of FL Highway Patrol Trooper Zachary Fink

Last week, members of the Florida Highway Patrol, family, friends, and law enforcement officers throughout Florida, and countless members of the community came together to honor Florida Highway Patrol Officer Zachary Fink who lost his life in the line of duty.

At the ceremony, Governor De Santis stated, “He made a decision to put on the uniform and volunteer his services in order to serve his community.” He added that he (Trooper Fink) didn’t just risk his life, but he gave his life for the safety of others, and that he made the choice to dedicate his life to putting service to his community above himself.

FHP Colonel Gary Howze II expressed that Trooper Fink had the desire to help people since the age of six and that Zach was living his dream every day as a Florida State Trooper.

Trooper Zachary Fink served with the Florida Highway Patrol in Brevard and St. Lucie counties. He was just 26 years old and leaves behind his fiance, Amanda, his grieving parents, and countless family members, friends, and a team of law enforcement colleagues.

Constituent of the Week

Lieutenant Colonel Montoria Hubbard, United States Air Force (Ret)

Our Constituent of the Week is Lieutenant Colonel Montoria Hubbard, United States Air Force (Ret).

Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard is a native of Magee, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, Oxford in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and earned a Master’s degree from the University of Arkansas in Operations Management.

Receiving his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corp, he entered the Air Force in 1980. His journey began at Keesler AFB where he completed training as a personnel officer. Over the next three years, he served at England AFB in Louisiana as a personnel officer working in the Consolidated Base Personnel Office. He was then deployed to Korea in support of Operation TEAM SPIRIT.

In 1983, he went back to school to become an operations officer where he completed the ICBM Officer Course at Sheppard AFB in Texas and at Vandenberg AFB in California. In 1984, Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard was assigned to Little Rock AFB where he became the Missile Combat Crew Commander of Titan II and Chief of Personnel.

He then arrived at Patrick AFB in 1988 and became Chief of Human Resources and Distribution Management. In 1992, he returned to Keesler and completed the Personnel Officer course and deployed again overseas to Rhein Main Air Base Germany followed by an assignment at Incirlik AB Turkey as Commander of the 39th Mission Support Squadron. Another deployment soon followed to Italy where he served as the Deputy Chief in support of Operation PROVIDE PROMISE.

In 1994, he returned to the United States for an assignment at Peterson AFB in Colorado (USAF Academy). And then, nearly 10 years after his first tour of duty at Patrick, he returned to serve as Deputy Commander of the 45th Support Group followed by his last active duty position as Director of Staff.

He recently served as the Program Manager and Facility Security Officer (FSO) at Zel Technologies Operations and Technical Solutions Group in Melbourne where his responsibilities included business development activities such as identifying, negotiating, and managing strategic relationships.

As FSO, Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard developed, maintained, and managed a personnel security program supporting 80 full-time employees and consultants.

Today, Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard serves as an Elder at Truth Revealed Ministries (TRM) in Palm Bay and has served on five other ministries during his 20 years at TRM.

He is also an Ordained Chaplain and has been an active member of the General Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. for over 20 years and currently serves as Chapter President.

Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard has been a tireless advocate for a legislative bill to commemorate March 28th annually as the Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in perpetuity.

He is a Patriot and a Statesman representing living history in his mission to commemorate the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. District 19 is grateful for Lieutenant Colonel Hubbard’s military service and his decades-long commitment to travel the world in defense of our nation.

District Highlights

Local Business, the Highland Mint, Created the Super Bowl Coin for the 31st Consecutive Year

Highland Mint in Melbourne has been creating the Super Bowl flip coin for 31 years dating back to the Super Bowl held on January 30, 1994 when the Dallas Cowboys challenged the Buffalo Bills. Highland Mint’s 31st coin creation was in honor of the Kansas City Chiefs versus the San Francisco 49ers battle in Super Bowl LVIII last week.

Highland Mint’s job accelerates the moment the AFC and NFC champions are announced, generally the end of January, and the production of 10,000 coins begins.

“Right after the last game we start the presses, the coins start getting minted and we start shipping out merchandise,” said Vince Bohbot, longtime executive vice president of the Highland Mint. “The coin for the actual coin toss (at the Super Bowl), takes three days to get made after the fact.”

Coins numbered one to 100 are shipped directly to the NFL. The other 9,900 are sold to the general public.

In the 30 years since Highland Mint has been creating the coins for Super Bowl game tosses, they report that “tails” has prevailed 18 times and “heads” has prevailed 12

times. After the official Super Bowl coin is flipped, it is then provided to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Ohio.

If you are interested in purchasing your own Super Bowl coin or other historic coins created by he Highland Mint, click here.

Breeze Airways Celebrates One Year of Service to/from Vero Beach Setting Passenger Records

October, November, and December of 2023 and January 2024 set passenger records for Breeze Airways flights into Vero Beach Airport.

“We are so thrilled with how Vero Beach has gone,” said Breeze spokesperson Gareth Edmondson-Jones. “We know it has been only a year, but what a year it has been.”

Breeze Airways’ first service to Vero Beach began February 2, 2023 with a flight from Hartford, Connecticut and during that first month, 5,103 passengers were served.

In the final quarter of 2023, passenger records continued to be set with 8,657 travelers in October, 14,023 travelers in November, 16,238 travelers in December, and 17,335 travelers in January 2024.

“These record-breaking months for Breeze means that the airport is providing service to a larger segment of the local population,” said Airport Director Todd Scher.

Additional improvements are coming including:

Additional seating in the boarding lounges
Protection from weather at baggage claim, although it will remain outside for the near future
Improvements to exit lanes
ADA-compliant bathrooms
More parking, including paved parking

Upcoming Events

Palm Bay Police Chief Foundation to Hold 1st Chief’s Breakfast

The first inaugural breakfast with Palm Bay Police Chief Mario Augello will take place on Thursday, February 29th at 7:30 a.m. at 1275 Culver Drive Northeast in Palm Bay. The fee to attend is $30 and proceeds will support equipment and training needs for the Palm Bay Police Department.

To participate in the event, contact Commander Lancaster at 321-409-7192 or [email protected].

Spring Fest and Kids Business Fair in Melbourne Beach

The Town of Melbourne Beach will host the Spring Fest and Kids Business Fair will take place on Saturday, March 2nd from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Ryckman Park (509 Ocean Avenue) in Melbourne Beach. The Kids Business Fair includes 55 booths to allow children to launch their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Children will develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers during the one-day marketplace.

Additional activities include food trucks, live entertainment, and family friendly events.

For more information, please click here.

Registration Open for 2024 Women in Science and Engineering Symposium

The 2024 Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Symposium will take place on Tuesday, March 12th (Professional Day) and Wednesday, March 13th (STEM Expo Day) at the Space Coast Health Foundation (1100 Rockledge Boulevard) in Rockledge.

The event is free of charge and open to the public. Check-in for Professional Day is 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. for the STEM Expo Day. Advance registration is required as space and parking are limited.

Notable speakers include Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, shark geneticist and FIT faculty member, Dr. Stacey A. Dixon, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, among many others. Other activities include discussion panels, professional networking, STEM demonstrations, student interactive exhibits, and more.

To register and view the full daily agendas, click here.

Florida Power & Light NextEra Energy Scholarship Announced

FPL has announced a scholarship in the amount of $20,000 for students with one year of high school experience in Science, Engineering, Communications, Mathematics and Enrichment (SECME). The deadline for the scholarship application is April 1, 2024.

The award will be $5,000 per year, renewable for up to three years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. To review eligibility requirements and to apply online, click here.

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