State Representative District 72: Jason Miller

Name: Jason Miller

Age: 48

Family: Michele Miller (spouse) and three kids

Bio: A former Sarasota prosecutor, U.S. Army JAG, head of a litigation division at a local law firm, and parent of three, Jason Miller is running for Florida House District 72 to keep Florida moving forward. A graduate of St. Martha's School, Cardinal Mooney High School, University of South Florida (varsity soccer alumni) and Chicago Kent College of Law, Miller returned to Sarasota to start a legal career as a prosecutor. For 8 years, Miller pursued justice in the court system, protected the public and advocated for members of law enforcement. Joining the Army Reserves and deploying overseas, earning numerous ribbons and awards, Miller returned to the Florida Attorney General's office, criminal appeals division, to continue fighting for justice. Now after an almost 20-year practice and after establishing a thriving civil litigation practice in Manatee-Sarasota, Miller seeks to earn your vote to continue in public service as your state representative. 

Why are you running for office?

Sarasota needs representation in Tallahassee that can protect it from the upcoming session of budget cuts and at the same time can promote Sarasota's business and tourism sectors and guide us out of this pandemic. I have worked in government service in several capacities and can use that experience, battle tested within the courtroom, to champion the needs of Sarasota. 

What are three priorities you hope to accomplish, if elected?

1. COVID-19 has subsumed all priorities for the state government. The second- and third-order effects will be felt for generations. We have to act now to lessen the drain to the economy and to protect the inheritance for future generations;
2. Priorities including infrastructure, the environment (water quality) and education are never far from my mind; and
3. If given the opportunity, I would like to strengthen the infrastructure of the Sarasota area to allow for measured expansive growth, and to maintain if not enhance quality of life concepts, such as furthering of our understanding of red tide to minimize its impact on the economy, and to strengthen the public school systems to keep Sarasota as a Florida's No. 1 inbound destination site. 

With Florida revenues expected to finish the year at $1.6 billion below expectations:

What budget cuts would you propose?

I think cuts are coming across the board. The trick would be to minimize the cuts to District 72. The best answer I can give would be my intent to promote job growth in the construction and tourism industries since these have such a dramatic impact on the revenue base for the state.

What would be your position on raising taxes to close any gap?

Raising taxes is the last thing we should have to do. 

What’s your position on calls for the state to expand its Medicaid spending?

My Catholic upbringing encourages me to help others in need, especially when there is a low cost in doing so. The federal Medicaid expansion funds would provide health care coverage to low-income earners who make too much to qualify for Medicare but not enough for any other plan. The preventative health benefits should be obvious and act as a moral imperative. Without coverage, these sick people would enter emergency rooms and other doctors' offices with advanced and untreated conditions, fail to pay their bills and pass the advanced costs onto other Floridians. Since payments for the expansion would come from federal dollars and thereby spread that costs among the 49 other states (yet benefit only Floridians), I don't hear a convincing argument why we should deny health coverage to the sick and the poor. 

How would you rate Florida’s public education funding: too little, just right, too much? What would you change?

"Very good, and could be better." Florida's teachers are a gem of the state. Sarasota's are a diamond. Our schools produce some of the brightest students in the state and the country and accomplish this on a fraction of the budgets from other states. I would continue to retain the best teachers we can afford and promote continued parental involvement through work-from-home programs, work-study programs and allowances for students and teachers to be creative about COVID-19 teaching and safety. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis made the environment a top priority when elected, committing to spend/invest $2.5 billion during his term to help clean up and protect Florida’s water systems. How would you describe your position toward this spending?

I applaud his commitment to the environment. Everyone loves clean water. In Florida, clean water is an economic engine. There is a "golden-goose" concept to abide by: We all love the benefit of the golden eggs, but let's not kill the goose. We could go further in enforcing many of the existing laws to ensure that negligent and intentional polluters pay for clean up in order to protect and to preserve this most valuable natural resource. 

Visit Florida’s budget went from $76 million to $50 million in the last legislative session. Given the pandemic and its effects on Florida tourism, what would you propose in the next session?

Surely, the budget will be cut by the expected dramatic decrease in tourist and other tax revenue. As discussed above, I would propose enhancements to the economy that could encourage (COVID-19-safe) job growth and manageable construction. We have to get out in front of the COVID-19 pandemic first, otherwise little else matters. Visit Florida plays a crucial role in the perception of Florida to the rest of the world. We need that voice to attract visitors. Just as Disney invites the world to "be our guest," Florida needs a unifying and proactive voice encouraging tourism and travel to Florida. Especially now.

The November ballot will have an amendment to require a $15 minimum wage by 2026, increasing by inflation every year after. What’s your position on the minimum wage?

I have yet to see a regional minimum wage hike that works in the long run. In Sarasota, we need more affordable housing, and a wage hike might infuse cash into the system and temporarily mitigate this need. I fear that any gains will not last, and the added expense of the wages will translate into higher bills to tourists, translating to less overall revenue to the state. 

For the past three years, the issue of who should regulate short-term residential rentals has come before the Legislature. What’s your position — should the state or local governments regulate them? Why?

Generally, government that is closest to the people works best. Sometimes, there can be uniform laws that are spread statewide because they are enforced and applied uniformly. But cities, townships and communities throughout Florida differ in almost every way. High-rises on South Beach, Miami; small one-horse towns in the middle of the state; and moderate-sized beach cottages on Siesta Key each maintain a certain flavor, flair and community about them that the locals might wish to preserve or to enhance. Home rule works best in these areas that differ dramatically from town-to-town, place to place.

State funding for the arts increased from $2.6 million two years ago to $21.2 million in the most recent session. Arts groups requested $62 million. What’s your position on state taxpayers funding the arts? And if you support it, how much should they get?

Well, how much can I get? Sarasota has a world-renowned arts district and history. I would fight harder than anyone to preserve that legacy and to enhance the tourism. Of course, in this COVID-19 Legislature, arts is likely to take a hit. But as someone who grew up just off of the John Ringling museum, enjoying the School of Art and now a patron of the opera, sculpture and performing arts scenes, funding for the arts in District 72 would follow in priority very closely.

Florida’s unemployment insurance compensation system was roundly criticized during the pandemic. It pays one of the lowest amounts in the nation — a maximum of $275 per week for 12 weeks. Should that be changed, and if so, to what? Why?

The system has been revamped and needed an upgrade. The new COVID-19 Legislative session might be cloaked in stimulus packages, such as additional unemployment funds in order to get the economy running smoothly. A streamlined application process and efficient transfers would allow people to get back to work faster. Floridians want to work. Any one-time COVID-19 stimulus packages for unemployment benefits should be tightly maintained.