Example Of Representative Thomas J. Rooneyflorida's 17th Districtparty: Republican Essay

Family Policy FYC4660 (1190)

Assignment 3: Your Policy Makers

Purposes: To raise awareness of policy and government processes and provide useful tools and experience for finding out more about lawmakers and legislation.
Directions: Answer the questions in the space provided. Type your answers into this document. Keep the question number or letter and question; insert your answers under each question. Answer in one or two lines and brief sentences, as per instructions. Use this document as a template. You may add space as you need it. Please do not delete space.
Find the names of your representatives to the U.S. Congress and your state, based on where you live. Go to Members of Congress tab https://www.govtrack.us/. If you reside in Florida, you can find this information from: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx?SessionId=76 . There are also other sites you can find that will show you your representatives at the national and state levels.
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Representative Darryl Ervin Rouson District 70 - St. Petersburg Party: Democrat Current Committee Assignments: Justice Appropriations Subcommittee Appropriations Committee Business & Professions Subcommittee Regulatory Affairs Committee

Representative Doug Broxson

District 3 - Milton
Party: Republican
Health Innovation Subcommittee Vice Chair
Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee
Local & Federal Affairs Committee
Veteran & Military Affairs Subcommittee
Representative Charles E. Van Zant
District 19 - Palatka
Party: Republican

Joint Select Committee on Collective Bargaining Chair

Criminal Justice Subcommittee Vice Chair
Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Vice Chair
Finance & Tax Committee
Local & Federal Affairs Committee
Senator Jose Abruzzo District 25 - D-Wellington Party: Democrat Current Committee Assignments: Finance and Tax, Vice Chair Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Communications , Energy, and Public Utilities Community Affairs Fiscal Policy Regulated Industries Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, Alternating Chair Joint Subcommittee on Auditor General Selection
Now, find out more about what one of your lawmakers—federal or state--is doing in the area of family policy, or take a family impact lens on their committee work or a bill they are sponsoring. If your lawmaker is NOT doing anything with family policy, what ARE they working on?
List your lawmaker’s name and district; a family related Bill number and name of the bill that she or he sponsored or cosponsored in the past 1-3 years or considered in a committee in which they serve; (it’s ok if it has not been or was not passed into law). If your lawmaker has not been involved in a family related bill, provide the same information about something else he or she is working on.
CS/CS/HB 149: Rights of Grandparents GENERAL BILL by Judiciary Committee ; Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee ; Rouson ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Broxson ; Hill ; Rooney ; Van Zant

Representative Darryl Ervin Rouson District 70 - St. Petersburg

The FLORIDA HB 149 has been introduced this year in Florida and is called the Rights of Grandparents and Great-Grandparents Act, which is sponsored by Florida State Sen. Jose Abruzzo, D-Wellington, and Florida State Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.
Write a brief statement summarizing what this bill/legislation would do or change, and where it is in the legislative process.
With this act, grandparents or great-grandparents would be allowed to "go to court and ask a judge for visitation rights on a case-by-case basis" (Blair, S., 2015). With this in mind, parents cannot just alienate their children to their grandparents. Rights of Grandparents; Authorizes grandparent of minor child to petition court for visitation; provides for application of Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction & Enforcement Act; provides conditions under which court may terminate grandparent visitation. Last Action: 3/27/2015 House - CS Passed; YEAS 112 NAYS 0 Location: First Passage
In 1-3 sentences, summarize your reaction to the bill/legislation and explain WHY you think this way. Be sure to step back and think critically about how the legislation would affect families, and why you think the way you do.
If you ask me, this is a great act to lobby as alienation can affect both the grandparents and grandchildren in every way. If the natural bond of the grandchild and the grandparents is intentionally separated, the natural structure of the family and the people surrounding it will deteriorate. Grandparents offer "unconditional love, emotional support, and another human to spend time and make enjoyable memories".
In the following space, write two bullet points showing what you would tell your lawmaker about your reaction to what she or he is working on related to families or the family impacts of some other work they are doing. Be sure to use a family impact lens to get a family perspective on the policy/law/bill. Your points need to be detailed enough for him/her to understand, even if they don’t have a family science/social science background.
While the parents will serve as a guide to their kids, they will still need loving people and grandparents are those loving people. Grandparents are very loving, plus they offer wisdom and truth not fully found in the parents because they have been through a lot. The Grandparents Visitation Act is a good idea for the family to bond and be closer to each other, which is very important for the kids.
Children need more advocates and mediators to help them speak up and voice their feelings and grandparents can contribute to that. It is good that things are changing and officials are realizing how important grandparents are to their kids

What surprised you, as you were doing this assignment? Or, what insights would you like to share?

I was actually surprised that such an Act is being introduced just now because I thought we do not need an action such as this for grandparents to be able to visit their grandchildren. It also made me sad that in our country, most families don't treat their grandparents and great-grandparents right. Most of the time, when they get old, they are sent to the nursing care or home for the aged and do not get visited by their kids anymore.  And even if the grandparents or the great-grandparents are still strong, they are being alienated by their own kids and are not allowed to see their own grandchildren. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I don't think they should be used for not letting grandparents see their grandchildren. It is their right to visit and see them no matter the reason because---for sure---they will give unconditional love to their grandkids. If this act is passed in the future, I am sure a lot of grandparents and great-grandparents will be happy to see their loving kids and grandkids. I am still young, but I value my grandparents a lot. Unfortunately, they passed away and they will never see me get married or have kids. Despite that, I have learned a lot of things from my grandparents that I brought to my adulthood. I don't know where I would be if not for their lessons and love. I hope this act would be passed soon because it will bring the family closer and bring great and memorable experiences for everyone.

Additional resources:

If you live in Florida, consider this: Go to http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/bills.aspx and select a radio button to find current bills in the House or Senate or both. Names of the Sponsors (Senators and Reps) will come up, so know your lawmaker’s name. You may also find the Florida Senate search information at https://www.flsenate.gov/Search/BillSearchTips . Use the Bill search function at https://www.flsenate.gov/Search/BillSearchTips; type in the name of the lawmaker in the “filed by” space.
For US Congress, go to https://www.congress.gov/ and type in a search term, select a bill, and note the sponsors.