Posted on Wed, Apr. 23, 2008

He has danced alongside comedian Ellen DeGeneres on national television, testified in front of a state Senate committee and talked policy with Gov. Charlie Crist -- all at the ripe old age of 11.

So sixth-grader Jack Davis took things in stride Tuesday afternoon when he stood side by side with Crist and a bevy of legislators, cameras flashing in his direction, recorders capturing his every word, legislators fawning over his every move. After all, it's not every day that a preteen gets a bill passed in the Legislature.

''It's all been very exciting,'' Jack said, just moments after Crist used a blue marker to sign into law the ``Jack Davis Lending a Helping Hand Act.''

The measure, partly crafted by the Ransom Everglades School student, encourages restaurants and other eateries to donate leftover food to homeless shelters by freeing them of liability for food poisoning or any other illness. Restaurants have often been reluctant to donate uneaten food for fear of being sued for food poisoning.

Jack, who lives in Miami Shores with his parents, Jeff and Yasmin Davis, came up with the concept last summer when he and his family loaded up on biscuits, bacon and eggs at a breakfast buffet in Chattanooga, Tenn. The manager prompted Jack's family to fill up on more food because the remainder of the uneaten food was bound for the garbage.

The manager explained to a confused Jack that the food could not be donated because the eatery could be sued for sickness or food poisoning.

Still upset that the food was going to waste, Jack turned to his father, a personal injury attorney, for help. Together they helped draft a proposal for Florida, where restaurants faced the same problem.

Jack was able to pass along his proposal to Miami attorney Stephen Marino, a board member of the Florida Justice Association, who then brought the issue before Rep. Ari Porth, a Coral Springs Democrat.

Jack ''had a great idea and had the tenacity to pursue it,'' Crist said.

By January, Porth and Sen. Nan Rich, a Sunrise Democrat, filed bills with Jack's idea, and Tuesday it was made official with Crist's signature.

''He's an inspiration that good ideas can actually be heard,'' Porth said.

So are there any political aspirations on the horizon for Jack? Though he hopes to be an attorney like his father, and recently attended a leadership conference in Washington, D.C., he shrugged at the question. If he decides to run, he already has one backer.

''I'm starting an exploratory committee,'' Porth told Crist. ``Jack Davis for 2040.''