The House and Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittees have released some preliminary budget documents and we are already working on a comparison and analysis. However, won’t have budget proviso language and other details of the FEFP and non-FEFP allocations until later this week. We are preparing a side-by-side comparison of current FEFP funding and House and Senate proposed FEFP funding which will be available tomorrow. In the meantime, what is immediately evident is that the House has chosen to, again, roll back the Required Local Effort (RLE) millage rate – from the current 4.638 mills to 4.322 mills — so that the RLE will generate no more in 2017-2018 than it did in the current year (2016-2017). This reduces total potential local funds by more than $530 million. The House proposal results in total FEFP funding of about $20,424,000,000 – an increase of about $251 million or 1.25% — and total FEFP funds per FTE of $7,223.71 – an increase of $19.13 or 0.27%. Meanwhile, the Senate has proposed maintaining the current RLE millage rate at 4.638 mills which results in total FEFP funding of nearly $20,963,000,000 – an increase of about $790 million or 3.92% — and total FEFP funds per FTE of $$7,414.26 – an increase of $209.68 or 2.91%. Clearly, the two proposals are significantly different, but please keep in mind that this is very early in the process and a great deal of information is not available and policy decisions are still unclear. We will post our initial comparison as soon as possible and will add information as it becomes available.
Below are links to our abbreviated daily report on the results of today’s committee actions and the schedule of meetings coming up on Wednesday.
[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – March 28, 2017“]
We will provide a more detailed report on this week’s bill action at the end of the week, but for more immediate information on each of the bills listed below, please click on the bill number to access the bill’s web page for the bill text, short summary, and related information.
In the House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee meeting:
HB 67 — Public School Recess by Plasencia – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
HB 127 — Public School Attendance Policies by Plasencia — AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 371 — Assistive Technology Devices by Ausley — PASSED
HB 1131 — Shared Use of Public School Playground Facilities by Drake — PASSED
HB 1365 — Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program by Ahern — PASSED
Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) PKI1 — Charter Schools (links to PCB text) – SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
In the Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee meeting, the Subcommittee reviewed and discussed the Chair’s education budget proposal (see above for brief discussion of this proposal)
In the Senate Regulated Industries Committee meeting:
SB 860 – Florida Building Code by Brandes — AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
In the House Local, Federal & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee meeting:
HB 1235 — Military and Veteran Support by Latvala — AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 1289 — Local Financial Emergencies by Raulerson — AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
In the House Transportation & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee meeting:
HB 1239 – School Bus Safety by Eagle — PASSED
In the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting:
SB 1588 – Military and Veteran Support by Latvala — PASSED
In the Senate Transportation Committee meeting:
SB 1416 – Enhanced Safety at School Crossings by Young — PASSED
In the House Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee meeting:
HB 789 – Procurement of Professional Services by Stone – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 843 — Public Meetings and Records/Meetings Between Two Members of Board or Commission by Donalds – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 909 – Building Code Administrators and Inspectors by Goodson — PASSED
HB 1107 – Public Records/Workers’ Compensation by Albritton — PASSED
HB 1281 – Department of Management Services by Albritton – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
In the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee meeting:
PCB PKA1 — Charter Schools and Fixed Capital Outlay Funding by PreK-12 Appropriations (links to PCB text) – SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
PCB PKA2 — Educational Funding by PreK-12 Appropriations (links to PCB text) – SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL
HB 15 — Educational Options by Sullivan — AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 293 — Middle School Study by Burton – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 655 — Exceptional Student Instruction by Porter — PASSED
HB 773 — K-12 Student Assessments by M. Diaz – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 833 — Student Eligibility for K-12 Virtual Instruction by Sullivan – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
HB 1111 — Teacher Certification by Plasencia — PASSED
HB 1331 – Education/Schools of Excellence by Grall — PASSED
HB 7057 — Civic Literacy by PreK-12 Quality – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
The Subcommittee also reviewed and discussed the Chair’s Budget Proposal (see above for brief discussion of this proposal)
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[toggle title=”Coming Up on Wednesday — March 29, 2017“]
Please note that the meetings listed below may be viewed via live webcast or archived videos on the Florida Channel. Also, for real-time updates on these meetings and other legislative activities, please click HERE to access our Twitter feed.
The House Government Accountability Committee will meet (8:00-11:00 am; 17 HOB) to consider the following item(s) and others:
HB 493 – Enhanced Safety for School Crossings by Toledo
HB 599 – Public Works Projects by Williamson
GAC3 – Elections by Government Accountability (links to bill text)
GAC4 – Florida Retirement System by Government Accountability (links to bill text)
The House Public Integrity & Ethics Committee will meet (9:00-11:00 am; 404 HOB) to consider the following item(s) and others:
HB 1283 – Inspector General & Auditors by Raulerson
HB 1285 – Public Records/Inspector General by Raulerson
The Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee will meet (9:00-10:30 am; 412 KOB) for Review and Discussion of Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget Issues
The House Appropriations Committee will meet (11:30 am-2:00 pm; 212 KOB) to consider the following item(s) and others:
HB 7069 – Best & Brightest Teachers & Principals by Education
The House will be in Session (2:30-completion; House Chamber) to consider the following item(s) and others on Special Order (2nd Reading):
HB 7021 – Local Government Ethics Reform by Public Integrity & Ethics
HB 7023 – Trust Fund/Local Government Lobbyist Registration
HB 11 – Labor Organizations by Plakon
The Senate will be in Session (4:00-6:00 pm; Senate Chamber) to consider the following item(s) and others on 3rd Reading:
SB 80 – Public Records/Attorney Fees by Steube
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