Reps. Stark and Yeager provide update on SCMS student-designed bill

State Rep. Paula Stark (R-St. Cloud) grew emotional Tuesday as she gave St. Cloud Middle School students an update on a bill some of their classmates designed last year as part of a “Build a Bill” competition.

The contest was designed to show students the process involved in developing a Bill and presenting it to the State House in Tallahassee.

Stark’s pride was evident as she introduced the team of students who won the contest: Allayah Rodriguez, Ella Wetzel, and Evangeline Morrero Mosa. The Bill they designed would have required school personnel to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Stark explained that the Bill went into drafting; it was discussed, fiscal policies were addressed and dealt with and then they needed to find a Senate sponsor.

“If you don’t have a House sponsor and Senate sponsor, the Bill won’t go through the whole process,” she said, noting where HB 615 died without a Senator to provide chest compressions.

But just as CPR can extend life, Stark’s collaborative spirit worked to find a way to keep the idea of HB 615 alive.

“Because the idea was so great,” Stark said, “and there were other Representatives doing similar activities, there was a bill that made it through.” Stark co-sponsored that bill with Rep. Brad Yeager (R-New Port Richey).

Yeager was also on hand Tuesday to speak to the students. He explained that Rep. Stark called him and said their Bills were similar, and asked how they could work together. 

“In Tallahassee, there is this saying called ‘moving the football,’” Yeager said. “That means every pass can’t score a touchdown. But you can get a first down and move things along the line. With this bill right here, we wanted CPR [training] for all staff. So maybe we didn’t get that. But what we did get with this bill is that all of our coaches are now going to be trained in CPR, first aid, and AED training. We have that one step towards everybody having (CPR) training.”

St. Cloud Fire Chief Jason Miller agreed. “Everybody knows that if you don't start CPR pretty quick, the brain starts to decay, you start getting brain damage, and odds of survivability diminish greatly,” he said. “While the goal was to get all teachers and all staff across the board certified in CPR,” he said, “unfortunately, we couldn't get that across the finish line. But we managed to get the coaching staff to be certified and trained, which is an amazing start. But we're not going to give up there.” 

Miller said local training called Hands-Only CPR, which doesn’t require a certification but has been proven to save lives, and SCFD will be coming to St. Cloud Middle and High Schools to coordinate those training sessions and how that will work starting in the new year.

Speaking to the contest winners, Stark said, “I want you to realize that sometimes, if something doesn’t happen just the way you think it should happen in a direct path, there are always other paths to pursue. So, you don’t just stop. You keep going and you find other ways to do it. That’s what we’ve done today for you. Always look around you; look around your community, your school community - what things are available to you and who can be partners in making your life or your mission better? There’s no failing, ever. Even though that bill in the design that we put it through didn’t make it, we won with Mr. Yeager’s Bill.”

“You can bet that all the Representatives including Paula were a big part of getting that through with a Senate sponsor,” Yeager said, “and getting it to the finish line at the Governor’s office, where he signed it into law March 22.”