Miguel Díaz de la Portilla

Miguel Díaz de la Portilla
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 40th district
Assumed office
2012
Preceded by Rene Garcia
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 36th district
In office
2010–2012
Preceded by Alex Díaz de la Portilla
Succeeded by Oscar Braynon
Personal details
Born (1963-01-30) January 30, 1963
Miami, Florida
Political party Republican
Alma mater University of Miami (B.A.) University of Miami Law School (J.D.)
Profession Attorney at Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Religion Christianity

Miguel Díaz de la Portilla (born January 30, 1963) is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 40th District, which includes western Miami-Dade County, since 2012.

History

Díaz de la Portilla served as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 1993 to 2000 before retiring in 2000 to run for Mayor of Miami-Dade County against incumbent Mayor Alex Penelas. He ran again in 2004 and faced off against Carlos Álvarez, the Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department; County Commissioner Jimmy L. Morales; Maurice Ferré, the former Mayor of Miami and County Commissioner; and José Cancela, a broadcast journalist.

Florida Senate

While serving in the Senate, Díaz de la Portilla joined with Democrats in the legislature to oppose the controversial "parent trigger" legislation, which ultimately failed.[1] Additionally, he voted for the 2013-2014 budget, which included "$1 million for a Bay of Pigs Museum in Miami, commemorating the botched 1961 invasion of Cuba," noting, "It's something everyone in the Miami delegation likes."[2]

In 2013, a Local 6 investigation uncovered more than $1.3 million in Internet casino money flowing from the accused racketeers and money launderers to Florida politicians. Committees of Continuous Existence, or CCEs, received $277,500 -- 20.8 percent of the total. More than 75 percent of the money went to CCEs associated with Republican lawmakers, including the most money going to the CCE associated with state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla. The Miami Republican led the effort to keep Internet casinos open after a Central Florida legislator last year proposed shutting them down. [3]

Diaz de la Portilla is up for re-election this year.

Portilla on the 2nd Amendment

Senator Diaz de la Portilla's A rating is being reviewed by the National Rifle Association.[4] On February 19, 2016, USF Executive Director and NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer sent a "Florida Alert!" to USF & NRA Members and Friends regarding Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla recent actions.[5] Portilla has come out against the 2nd Amendment by rejecting several key gun bills including HB4001, HB163, and SB68.[6] On February 23, 2016 USF Executive Director and NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer sent a second "Florida Alert!" highlighting Republican Senator Don Gaetz open letter to Miguel de la Portilla criticizing him of “Put simply, Senator Diaz de la Portilla used his power as a committee chairman to deny senators and the public the opportunity even to discuss the issue of open carry and vote for or against the bill".[7] On February 28, 2016 USF Executive Director and NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer sent a third "Florida Alert!" highlighting House Republican Matt Gaetz open letter to Miguel de la Portilla also criticizing him of not scheduling thus killing the "Open Carry" bill.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "'Parent-trigger' bill defeated in the Senate for second straight year". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Florida passes record budget, backed by sales tax revenue". Reuters. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Dirty Money?: Trail from allegedly illegal casinos to Florida politicians". Click Orlando. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  5. ↑ "Florida Alert! Republican Senator Explains His Reason for Killing Progun Bills". NRA-ILA Institute for Legislative Action. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Meet the Florida Republican Who Single-Handedly Killed Two of the NRA’s Top State Bills". The Trace. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Alert! Florida Senator brags about killing 2A gun bills". NRA-ILA. February 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Florida Alert: Matt Gaetz never quits fighting for second amendment rights". NRA-ILA. February 28, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.