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…

Gun debate pushes Florida Legislature into rare weekend session

The Florida state Senate will hold an extraordinary Saturday session to try to forge a compromise on a school safety plan.  Both the state House and the Senate delayed taking up the proposal Friday as they work toward a March 9 deadline to pass new safety laws in the wake of a high school massacre…

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…

The Latest: School safety bill moves ahead in Florida Senate

A Florida Senate committee has approved that chamber’s version of the school safety bill.  The bill was approved on a 13-7 vote Tuesday evening.  Sen. Bill Galvano, who is designated to become the next Senate president and is ushering through the bill, said the earliest it will be considered by the full Senate is Friday.…

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…

Despite Parkland’s opposition, Florida House panel votes to arm teachers

Facing anguished relatives and classmates of shooting victims, a panel of Florida legislators took the unprecedented step Tuesday of creating a new statewide program to put armed teachers in classrooms — over the vocal opposition of Parkland residents.  Voting along party lines, the House Appropriations Committee approved training teachers to carry guns in class under…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 20, 2018

Today, Governor Scott convened several workshops – an education workshop, a mental health and child welfare workshop, and a law enforcement workshop — that met throughout the day to examine the elements to improve student safety and school security. FSBA was well represented in these discussions by Dr. Terry Nichols, Jackson County School Board Chair,…

A rattled Florida Legislature concedes it should do more to address mental health after Parkland school shooting

In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, Florida lawmakers vowed to push harder on an issue they acknowledged they had failed: mental health in schools.  Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, filed a mental health pilot program in schools early this year, which sets aside $40 million to connect students to community…