Dear Governor Charlie Crist, dear Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp, dear Senators and House Representatives,
We wish you all good luck for this year's legislative session and hope that you will find ways to ease the financial burden we homeowners in Florida are facing by enacting the right consumer-friendly bills.
You did real great during the special session for insurance reform (THANK YOU!) and we owners can only pray that you are continuing to work on solutions that will make living in Florida affordable again.
The three main issues: Property Tax Reform, Property Insurance Reform and Community Association Reform.
You may ask why community association reform?
Many owners paid much higher special assessments to their associations than property insurance and property tax together!
We all know that we will never be able to roll back the clock totally, but a mix of savings in property insurance and property tax alone will not be sufficient, if we don't see bills enacted that will finally stop the financial mismanagement, uncontrolled spending and even clear embezzlement in our associations!
Since the debate is still raging about the best way to find a solution for the property tax problem, it seems already clear what consumers need in regards to insurance reforms:
Mitigation discounts (various bills are on the table) and the important bills HB 1307 and HB 1267/SB 2498 that will help to lower the rates significantly and keep our money in Florida! If enacted this combined package will sure do the trick! Old business wisdom: Competition lowers the prices! Anybody who still thinks that we are able to lure the property insurance industry back to Florida with all kinds of incentives must have missed the writing on the wall in the last few years! They'll come back voluntarily when they realize wee can do without them! Florida is too big a market -- despite hurricanes and tornados!
There is only one real owner-friendly bill in regards to Association Reform on the table: COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BILL H1373 and S2816 -- filed by Representative Julio Robaina and Senator Alex Villalobos!
If you are really willing to help your constituents who are slowly but surely priced out of Florida -- these should be your main goals! In my humble opinion the whole economy of Florida hinges on solutions for these 3 problems!
Good luck!
Warm Regards,
Jan Bergemann, President
Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
http://www.ccfj.net/
(386) 740-1503
IN ALLIANCE WITH:
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Property Owners Association in the Villages (POA)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 11
Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches (FHCGPB)
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