Dear Friends: I want to update you on news relating to some of the legislation and initiatives that I have been working on recently.

First, in response to the recent cancer-fighting legislation I sponsored (which was signed into law), the American Cancer Society has invited me to Washington, DC to present me with its National Distinguished Advocacy Award. I am grateful to be chosen to receive this honor, and I am very proud that this legislation will help reduce the number of smokers in Florida while generating over one billion dollars for health care. In addition, the new law allocates $50 million per year for cancer research right here in our state.

In a recent email, I wrote about the dangers of texting while driving and my strong belief that we need to push for a law that specifically bans it. A small number of you questioned the need for a new law when there are already laws on the books for failure to use due care. Unfortunately, too many drivers don’t see texting while driving as falling into that category, even if it does. A specific law to ban texting would provide more incentive for drivers to keep their eyes on the road – thereby saving lives.

As an advocate for a texting-while-driving ban, I have been invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Distracted Driving Summit – designed to facilitate a structured conversation among government, academia, and the private sector on current and future initiatives to address the safety issues associated with distracted driving.

Of particular interest to me (and of great relevance to Florida) is a panel that will review “legislative and regulatory approaches for dealing with distracted driving; evaluations of the impact of such measures; enforcement issues; and public attitudes towards the issue.”

If this issue is of interest to you, a live webcast of the seminar that I will participate in (which occurs from 9/30-10/1) will be broadcast on the DOT website. Further information as it becomes available can be found at the Department's website:

http://www.rita.dot.gov/distracted_driving_summit/

In the meantime, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend, and I will continue to update you on my re-election campaign as we move forward.

With warm regards,

State Senator Ted Deutch
www.tedforflorida.com

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