House Appropriations Committee Backs 15 Projects Championed by Stephanie Murphy for Central Florida

This week, retiring U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., announced that the U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved 15 projects she spearheaded, totaling almost $14 million, to improve public safety, transportation, public health, housing and the environment in Central Florida.

Murphy’s projects include funding to improve transportation and infrastructure, implement crucial stormwater management projects in flood-prone communities, and bolster the resiliency of Florida’s diverse marine ecosystems. It also includes projects to support various initiatives led by the Sanford Police Department, Seminole State College, Seminole County Public Schools, the City of Winter Park, and other governmental and non-profit entities. In the coming months, the full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the various government funding bills that contain Murphy’s projects.

“From expanding resources for law enforcement to protecting our most vulnerable residents and our environment, these 15 investments will directly impact thousands of people living in our Central Florida community,” said Murphy on Thursday. “I am proud that these projects are advancing through the legislative process, and I will keep fighting to get this crucial funding signed into law.”

The House Appropriations Committee approved 15 Murphy-led projects, including:

• $5 million in funding for the City of Orlando to complete safety improvements to Corrine Drive by installing traffic calming features, ADA-compliant sidewalks, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, raised intersections and mid-block pedestrian crossings, and other safety upgrades.

• $239,059 in funding for Orange County to purchase and outfit a mobile van, staffed by health professionals, to provide routine medical services to high-risk and historically underserved areas. This includes enhancing the County’s efforts to increase vaccination rates and test individuals for HIV and hepatitis. Orange County has one of the highest rates of new HIV infections in the nation.

• $750,000 in funding for the Nature Conservancy of Florida to develop a pilot program that will modernize recreational fishing catch data and support efforts to educate recreational boat captains and anglers about humane catch and release methods to reduce fish mortality.

• $750,000 in funding for Mote Marine Laboratory to develop approaches to restore seagrass areas in Florida. These efforts will help Mote find the most resilient seagrass strains for restoration efforts.

• $1.1 million in funding for Habitat for Humanity of Seminole County and Greater Apopka to complete an infrastructure project for the development of a transit-oriented, affordable housing subdivision in Sanford, Florida.

• $1.1 million in funding for the City of Sanford to manage and reduce stormwater floods in the historically underserved Georgetown Community in Sanford, Florida. This effort will further protect the health and safety of Georgetown residents, improve the water quality that discharges into nearby impaired Lake Monroe, and prevent damage to critical infrastructure in the area.

Additionally, the bill also includes Murphy-led projects to:

• Expand the Seminole Wekiva Trail system, creating more than two miles of a trail and shared-use path, and implement signalized turning lanes at key intersections. This would create safe connectivity on a heavily traveled roadway that provides access to many businesses and residences.

• Purchase safety equipment, including barricades, for the Sanford Police Department. This equipment will help protect officers, event participants, and bystanders of community events from oncoming vehicles.

• Enhance Seminole State College’s Fire Science program through the purchase of equipment that will benefit students in the College’s Fire Science Technology Associate in Science program and other accredited postsecondary programs.

• Revitalize the Seminole High School’s Academy of Health Careers magnet program, strengthening the pipeline for health technicians, licensed practical and vocational nurses, and medical and clinical laboratory technicians.

• Modernize the City of Winter Park’s traffic signals, enhancing the safety of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians during peak commuting hours, community events, emergencies, and evacuations.

• Remodel an existing medical unit into a crisis stabilization unit for children under 18 on the AdventHealth for Children Orlando campus.

• Address decades-long stormwater management issues in the historically underserved Midway community in Sanford. The funding will help prevent flooding that would cause extensive damage and threaten the health and safety of residents.

• Create the Seminole County Access and Assessment Center and renovate an existing administrative office that will serve individuals with emotional disturbance, mental illness, and co-occurring disorders, such as substance abuse.

• Purchase equipment for NextStep Orlando, a paralysis recovery center, to allow the non-profit to improve efficiency and quality of care for survivors of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.