Press | Matt Gaetz for Florida House of Representatives

Herald: Fla. could curb lawsuits against doctors

February 16, 2012

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach and sponsor of the House bill, said his legislation will make Florida more attractive for doctors. One of the aims of his legislation is to cut down on the number of unneeded tests given by doctors to ward off potential lawsuits, he said. “This will be a great place [...]

SSN: Bills align judicial panel terms with Governor, raise judges’ retirement age

January 24, 2012

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Shalimar, and Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, have introduced bills authorizing the governor, upon taking office, to replace the five members of the JNC appointed by his predecessor instead of having to wait for their staggered terms to expire. Read More>>>

Gaetz wants governor to choose student rep for higher education panel

January 24, 2012

Gaetz said he’s called for the vote to change the constitution because students at Florida State University asked him to do so. He said the elective process as it exists now amounts to a “pay for play” system. Read More>>>

NwFDN: Taking a chance on casinos

January 11, 2012

Rep. Matt Gaetz asserted that “Florida would never be discussing gambling if we weren’t facing a budget crunch.” Read More>>>

Herald: Lawmakers get snarky on Twitter

January 11, 2012

At least two Tallahassee insiders took jabs at the 50 or so Occupy Tallahassee protesters who marched and chanted during the address. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Shalimar (@mattgaetz) wrote, “with all the lovely flowers in the House chamber, I can barely smell the Occupy people outside.” Read More>>>

NSF: Matt Gaetz calls out Occupy protestors

January 10, 2012

One of the newest grass-roots movements hit state government today, as the Occupy protestors descended upon the Capitol for the first day of the 2012 legislative session. Don’t count Rep. Matt Gaetz as a fan. And Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, is one of the Capitol’s more prolific legislative tweeters. Read More>>>

NWF Daily News: Keep Eglin’s missions

January 10, 2012

Task force member and state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, compared the latest moves of a military trying to cut expenses to a BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process without public input. “The issue we are in essence going through is a BRAC process without the benefit of BRAC itself,” he said. Read More>>>

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RECORD YEAR FOR TOURISTS IN FLORIDA

Preliminary state estimates show about 86 million people visited Florida last year, a new record for the number of tourists, and possibly a sign the worst of the state's economic woes are over. VisitFlorida, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, said the number of visitors in 2011 was up 4.4 percent over 2010, and above the 84.5 million visitors the state had in 2007. VisitFlorida also said travel-related employment rose to a near record high of 1.013 million, adding 38,000 jobs, 3.9 percent more than in 2010. The growth in tourism was driven by overseas visits, which increased 16.1 percent, the state said. A 5.7 percent growth in Canadian visits put Canadian tourism at an all-time high. Also, it was a banner year for Florida residents vacationing in their own state, VisitFlorida said. "Since Florida relies on tourism to generate nearly a quarter of the state’s sales tax revenue and to employ over one million Floridians, it’s very encouraging to see that the industry experienced a record year," Tony Lapi, chairman of the VisitFlorida board, said in a statement. Preliminary data from airports showed a nearly 12 percent increase in commercial air travel, as well.