Florida State Legislators on Unemployment, COVID-19 Testing, & More
This Q&A is excerpted from a State Innovation Exchange telephone townhall featuring Florida state legislators Loranne Ausley and Ramon Alexander. Questions came from various Florida residents and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been attempting to assist my daughter with unemployment assistance. In the last 30 days, we’ve made over 800 phone calls. And we’re just kind of at wit’s end, and I just wanted to share that in case anyone had any inkling that this system has gotten any better—it has not.
State Representative Ramon Alexander: You’re absolutely correct. We are fielding thousands of emails and calls daily, trying to help our citizens navigate a very complex, arcane, and unfortunate process. And so what I would say to you is, allow us to continue to be your advocate. Feel free to email my office, and we will do every single thing that we can within our limited scope to advocate on your behalf.
We don’t need to paint a rosy picture. This system is jacked up. We spent $77 million to create it, and now we’re spending $79 million trying to clean it up. And we still have a very, very long way to go. And people must be held accountable. Audits need to be done, an investigation needs to be had and someone needs to go to jail. This is your government, you pay taxes for it, and it’s something I take extremely seriously.
Are you giving any consideration to how we might open schools back up and get kids back in school safely?
State Representative Loranne Ausley: The Commissioner of Education has a task force addressing that question. The last I’ve heard is that they want kids to be able to go back to school in the fall. Locally, I know, Superintendent Hanna and other superintendents are waiting to see where we are as it gets closer to August. And I know there’s a discussion about combining distance learning, staggering, and social distancing in the classrooms. I mean, obviously, this is an important piece of getting the economy back, because if kids are not in school, then people can’t go to work. But I don’t think we have an answer today.
Is there anything in place to ensure that we’ll be able to vote safely in November?
State Representative Loranne Ausley: Florida already has a very strong system of vote-by-mail, and you can vote by mail for any reason. And we are going to encourage as many voters as can possible to vote-by-mail in advance of the election.
The Florida Supervisors of Elections, a bipartisan group of supervisors from across the state, sent a letter to the governor and the Secretary of State to request extended early vote hours and other provisions that would ensure a safe voting process.
So I would encourage everyone to vote by mail. You can go online and request your ballot and encourage others to do the same.
I have a heart condition and I have pulmonary hypertension. I want to be one of the first ones to be tested. Where would I go to the test that?
State Representative Ramon Alexander: That is an excellent question. In Tallahassee, there are sites open to providing testing to anyone regardless of what their condition is. I know at Florida A&M University, they’re doing open test sites and, and other sites are popping up. I would strongly recommend you contact your primary health care provider and they can take you through the process of getting tested. And you’re more than welcome to reach out to my office and our entire delegation if you get any pushback.
