State Rep. Robin Bartleman reviews legislative wins for Pembroke Pines, including school‑readiness and first‑responder bills

State Representative Robin Bartleman addressed the Pembroke Pines City Commission on Aug. 6 to summarize legislative highlights from the 2025 session and to describe appropriations that affect the city.

Bartleman said three bills she sponsored were signed into law this year. She described legislation affecting first responders and their families, a school‑readiness bill aimed at expanding training and after‑care funding for children with disabilities, and a narrow correction dealing with controlled‑substance administration and first‑responder vehicles. She also highlighted changes to condominium reserve rules that were included in House Bill 913 (as discussed at Century Village meetings), and criminal penalties for dangerous and excessive speeding on waterways.

Local appropriations and programs: Bartleman said she secured funding for local projects including roof repairs at Children’s Harbor and a turn lane on Dykes Road; she also cited funding for a fire station in a neighboring municipality. She described a permanent, year‑round sales‑tax exemption for certain hurricane‑preparedness items and a later sales‑tax holiday for outdoor/hunting/camping gear from Sept. 8 to Dec. 31. She reminded residents that the My Safe Florida Home grant program opened Aug. 4 with grants up to $10,000 for roof or window mitigation and advised homeowners not to sign contracts before approval.

Education and condo legislation: Bartleman described House Bill 877, which she said requires training for early‑learning teachers who accept state early‑learning coalition dollars for children with disabilities and provides after‑care funding; she said the change aims to reduce expulsions and improve consistency for pre‑K children with disabilities. She also described HB913 and related condo legislation that added options for condominium associations to use lines of credit for reserve funding, a change she said developed from Century Village advocacy.

First‑responder protections: Bartleman discussed House Bill 751, which she said clarified state benefits for first responders with catastrophic injuries so officers and their families continue to receive health coverage when injured in the line of duty.

Why it matters locally: Bartleman framed the session’s budget as roughly $116 billion and said many line items or appropriations — from local turn lanes to nonprofit roofing grants — were the result of local advocacy. Commissioners thanked Bartleman and said they would coordinate on future town halls about property‑tax reform and other statewide proposals that could affect municipal budgets.

Public comments and outreach: Bartleman invited residents to sign up for her newsletter at robin.bartleman@myfloridahouse.gov for weekly updates during session and said her office will help residents navigate programs such as My Safe Florida Home and driver‑license flow events for Century Village residents.