Florida legislative session 2022 begins: What are Okaloosa and Walton county lawmakers' top goals?

Providing state funding help for a new agriculture education and promotion facility on the north end of Fort Walton Beach and for mental health initiatives are among District 2 State Sen. George Gainer’s goals for the state Legislature’s new session.

Gainer and other elected state officials who help provide leadership for Okaloosa and Walton counties recently shared what they hope to accomplish during the 60-day session that starts Tuesday.

“We want to pay more attention to the mental health facilities and staffing,” said Gainer, R-Panama City, whose district includes Walton and Bay counties and most of Okaloosa County. “It’s been hard to work through that stuff when so many talented and dedicated people are coming down sick” with COVID-19.

Gainer said Gov. Ron DeSantis “has some pretty bold plans on how we’re going to handle the rest of this pandemic. He’s been right about everything else, so I’ll probably support (what’s coming.) We’re right in the middle of some projects and at the end of others, such as improving (U.S. Highway) 331 (in Walton County). We’re not going to let this pandemic affect us if we can.”

Plans call for the new agriculture and promotion facility to eventually stand on an Okaloosa County-owned site at 1954 Lewis Turner Blvd. between Miss Ruth’s Farmers Market and the county Courthouse Annex Extension.

By the way: Rare pilot mental health program in Okaloosa County celebrates first successful year

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The county has leased its existing south-area extension office at 127 Hollywood Blvd S.W. from Fort Walton Beach for $1 per year since 1974. This office lacks space and has a leaky roof and insufficient parking.

Plant sales and clinics, master gardener classes and other agriculture-related programs provided by the county’s south-area extension office would be some of the activities held at the planned new location.

District 1 state Sen. Doug Broxson, whose district includes the southwest part of Okaloosa County, said one of his top aims in the new session is to support the county’s current batch of state funding priorities.

“We had a pretty good session last year in funding their priorities and will look to do the same this year,” said Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze.

Among other items, Okaloosa County currently seeks state funding to support: continued development of its Pretrial Mental Health Diversion Program, which is a voluntary effort designed to redirect certain people away from being put in jail; a project to improve the water quality in Cinco Bayou; the installation of interior liners on aging clay sewer pipes and associated manholes in the Fort Walton Beach and Ocean City areas; and the construction of new sidewalks along Old Bethel Road in Crestview.

As for the COVID-19 pandemic, Broxson said he thinks DeSantis has handled it well and kept Florida open for business, even during the latest threat from the omicron variant.

“The federal government is in the red and we’re in the black,” Broxson said. “Citizens don’t want to die of a virus, but they want to feed their family and go to work everyday.”

District 3 state Rep. Jayer Williamson, whose district covers most of north Okaloosa County and most of Santa Rosa County, said he hopes to help secure state funding for Okaloosa County Road 2 road and bridge upgrades and for a potable water elevated storage tank in the Florosa area.

Williamson, R-Pace, said he has strongly supported the governor for his handling of the pandemic since it began.

“In the new session, I will be supportive if (any new measures) continue to make Florida a free state and let people make their own decisions,” he said.

Williamson notified all of his fellow House members in a Jan. 6 email that the new legislative session would be his last and that he would not seek re-election.

More: Rep. Jayer Williamson decides not to run for reelection in 2022

“Often forgotten in politics is the fact that we are all humans,” Williamson said in the email. “(Elected officials) laugh, cry and bleed just like everyone else. I am a grandson, son, father, husband, uncle, nephew and brother. Like many of you, I also have a 'real job' and employees that rely on me to support their families. Unfortunately, some of the people we serve forget this, as do many who hold public office.

“We’re not celebrities or rock stars, and our goal shouldn’t be getting a blue checkmark on Twitter or likes on a Facebook post. My sole purpose for doing this job is the same now as when I was 5 years old and told my grandfather why I wanted to be a state representative — to help people. As you continue in the future, I hope you will always stay true to why we are called to serve.”

District 4 state Rep. Patt Maney, R-Shalimar, whose district covers most of Okaloosa County, said he looks to play a positive role in passing a balanced state budget and redistricting all legislative seats in the Florida Legislature as well as in the state’s congressional districts.

“Closer to home, I would like to see the Baker Act (involuntary mental health treatment) and the Marchman Act (involuntary substance abuse treatment) laws to be updated and made more efficient in meeting the needs of individuals and society,” Maney said. “When I was honored to serve as a judge in Okaloosa County, I saw the inefficiency and insufficiency of the law and too frequently the heartache of families and waste of tax dollars as people cycled through the system, frequently with poor outcomes.

Ancillary to that, Florida needs aftercare programs to protect liberty," he added. "I will seek better funding for the county’s mental health program.”

Maney also said he has introduced a bill to eliminate “an unneeded and inefficient regulation” in the Department of Insurance, and a bill to move the date when mobile home tags are renewed to provide for issuance on the birthday of the owner, just like auto tags are issued.

In addition, “As a result of my service in criminal court, I’ve introduced two bills,” he said.

One of the bills would allow, but not require, circuit court judges to place a circuit court criminal defendant who is only being sentenced on a misdemeanor to be placed on contracted court probation. The second bill would require bails bondsmen to return defendants to the county in which the case is pending, saving sheriffs and counties the cost of transporting defendants who had failed to appear, Maney said.

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Also this year, “I again will advocate for state assistance with road projects, drainage, flooding and other projects in Okaloosa County,” he said. “Workforce development and education both with the school district and Northwest Florida State College are priorities.”

District 5 state Rep. Brad Drake, R-Eucheeanna, whose district includes Walton County, could not be reached for comment.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Florida legislative session: Okaloosa, Walton legislators share goals