Florida DOT secretary joins House T&I Committee

Outgoing Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos will join the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee’s staff as a senior adviser, effective Feb. 14, House T&I Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-Fla.) announced on Feb. 11.

“As a former transportation secretary with firsthand experience implementing infrastructure programs at the state level, Kopelousos will provide a unique and valuable perspective to the Committee’s development of a long-term reauthorization of surface transportation programs,” Mica said.

“She will help the Committee identify and reduce the substantial red tape, mandates, and regulatory burdens that bog down state and local officials when trying to carry out federal transportation programs,” Mica added.

Kopelousos will be responsible for coordinating with state and local officials around the country, and pulling together their expertise in eliminating unnecessary government bureaucracy, streamlining programs, and using innovative tools for building the nation’s infrastructure.

Kopelousos has served for four years as FDOT Secretary under Governor Crist. As secretary, she helped shepherd through legislation that put in place a statewide structure for public-private partnerships. She has overseen major projects in Florida involving significant private sector participation, including a $1.2 billion project to improve congestion along I-595, and a project adding express lanes and congestion pricing to I-95.

Kopelousos also previously served as FDOT chief of staff during the final year of the Jeb Bush Administration, after serving in the Governor’s Washington, D.C., office.

She will remain with the committee until assuming a position she has already accepted as county manager for Clay County, Florida.