CRC readies to head into the homestretch in its amendment making process

After spending months discussing more than a hundred possible changes to the Florida Constitution, a state commission on Monday will head into its homestretch and begin the task of narrowing the list of proposed amendments to be placed on the November for voters to decide on.  The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), appointed once every…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 9, 2018

The legislature has extended the 2018 Session through Sunday, March 11 in order to allow for the 72-hour cooling off period before a final vote can be taken on the budget. The chambers also agreed that they will consider ONLY the Conference Reports budget bills and a tax relief bill – HB 7087 — after…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 4, 2018

Because the Senate held a rare Saturday floor session, this issue of the Session Spotlight provides our report on bills that were considered on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, both chambers postponed consideration of their respective public safety bills but legislators did consider several other bills of interest, including bills relating to local tax…

Florida Senate advances massive education bill with last-minute changes

The Florida Senate advanced HB 7055 on Friday, but it wasn’t the same education package that had passed through a committee earlier in the week.  A major amendment filed the evening before it went to the floor for a vote was the result of negotiations with House members, said sponsor Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. Those negotiations…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 1, 2018

Today, was a fairly light day of committee meetings and floor sessions. The Senate Public Safety bills were expected to be debated on the Senate floor, but that debate has been postponed until tomorrow.  Meanwhile, other bills of interest that were considered, including bills relating to local government ethics, impact fees, and early learning,   Please…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 28, 2018

Today, both chambers were engaged in floor sessions to move bills forward through the legislative process. The Senate did not consider any education related bills, but the House considered several, including bills relating to local government ethics, impact fees, and early learning,   Please click on the first link below for our report on the outcome…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 27, 2018

Today marked the last day of regularly scheduled committee meetings during this Session. Although committee meetings may still be called, if needed, the bulk of each of the remaining days of the Session will be devoted to floor sessions where bills will be heard on 2nd and 3rd Reading and will be swapped in Messages…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 26, 2018

As we enter the 8th week of the Legislative Session, please take a few minutes to review our Legislative Weekly video featuring Andrea Messina providing a recap of events last week and a status report on key bills and issues to be addressed in the final weeks of the Session including legislation to address student…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 22, 2018

Legislators took up several bills of interest today including bills relating to retirement, curriculum and graduation requirements, and government accountability and ethics. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome of consideration of these and other bills today.  There are no committee meetings or bills of interest scheduled on Friday.  However,…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 21, 2018

The main highlight today was a rally of an estimated 5,000 students, teachers, parents, school district personnel, legislators, and other citizens seeking to express their concerns and recommendations for legislative action in the wake of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week. Concerns about student safety and school security have also influenced…