An idea, a book, an agenda: in Florida, the speaker thinks the best policy might just come from the people.

• Author: Bousquet, Steve
• Position: Marco Rubio - Interview

The Florida Legislature is brimming with new ideas. It's the result of a unique collaboration between residents of the fourth-largest state and the new speaker of the Florida House, Marco Rubio. He's a 35-year-old Republican with a mission to create a fresh vision for Florida's future, one that gives people a more meaningful say in how laws are made.

Rubio's goal: Put policy first and politics second, by encouraging lawmakers to solicit bold ideas from their constituents and find ways to make them happen.

"I honestly and truly believe that people are dying for problem-solvers in politics," Rubio says. "I think we have to show how innovative ideas can be a catalyst for change."

A son of Cuban exiles, Rubio is the first Cuban-American speaker in Florida's history. He was born and raised in Las Vegas, where his father tended bar in a hotel. When Rubio was formally designated as speaker on Sept. 13, 2003, Radio Marti, the U.S. government-funded channel, beamed the ceremony to Cuba.

Rubio on that day challenged his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to fill the pages of a blank book with 100 innovative ideas that reflect "the real hopes and the real anxieties of real Floridians."

The book, 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future, was published in November by conservative publisher Regnery and financed by the Republican Party of Florida, a decision that has subjected Rubio to some criticism. He says he had no other way to pay for it, and that it would have been wrong to directly solicit donations from special interests with a stake in pending legislation.

SHARING THE IDEA

Rubio has shared his concept with politicians all over the country, and the idea is being imitated everywhere. Georgia public health officials say their 100 Ideas for a Healthier State "was borrowed from our friends in Florida." Iowa candidate for governor Jim Nussle assembled "99 Ideas to Energize Iowa's Future." Ohio Representative Mark Wagoner contacted Rubio's staff about launching a similar program in his state.

The book is an outgrowth of a website started last year by Rubio and House Republicans, www.100ideas.org. Thousands of people have posted ideas on the site, and legislators and candidates have held "idea-raisers" to seek new ways of dealing with familiar problems. In August, hundreds of people filled a hotel ballroom near Disney World for a statewide policy summit, that featured speeches by Jack Kemp, Newt Gingrich, Stephen Goldsmith and others.

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