As reported in Tuesday’s Session Spotlight, the Budget Conference Committees have been assembled and begun work on resolving differences between the House and Senate budgets. Last night, the Higher Education Budget Conference Committee met and the House has made an initial offer on a variety of issues, including Workforce Education. The PreK-12 Conference Committee is…
Leadership in the House and Senate seem to think they’ll wrap the annual 60-day lawmaking process in a timely manner this year as budget conferences were set to begin Tuesday evening. Budget chiefs Sen. Rob Bradley and Rep. Travis Cummings delivered optimistic remarks while standing side-by-side after the first joint appropriations meeting Tuesday afternoon. Read More
More than a year after last year’s Valentine’s Day shooting in Parkland that shocked the state and blurred party lines in the state Capitol, the Florida Senate passed a follow-up bill that has become increasingly partisan because of its expansion of a program that would allow classroom teachers to be armed. It succeeded on a…
With less than two weeks remaining in this Legislative Session, the tempo of business is likely to increase and meeting schedules will become more unpredictable. After today, committees will meet only if called for a specific reason and both chambers will devote most of their time to floor sessions and conference committee work. In addition,…
Today’s agenda includes just two committee meetings. Of particular interest, the Senate Appropriations Committee will consider its version of an omnibus education bill — SB 7070 — that expands public and private school choice programs and addresses a variety of other issues. An 85-page strike-all amendment has been filed to this controversial bill, so a…
A bill that would impose term limits on local school board members stalled in a Senate panel on Wednesday. Sen. Dennis Baxley’s bill (SJR 274) proposes a constitutional amendment on the question, requiring a statewide approval of 60% to be added to the state’s governing document. But the need for a statewide vote on a…
The Florida Senate didn’t have a formal vote on the bill that would allow classroom teachers to be armed on Wednesday, but they did adopt a major amendment that could settle one of the biggest lingering questions of the debate: who gets to decide if teachers in a school can be armed? Read More
Florida’s school safety bill has divided Republicans and Democrats over the issue of allowing classroom teachers to carry guns on campus. But as the bill heads for a vote by the full Senate, other provisions dealing with mental health, campus crime reporting and active shooter policies have broad bipartisan support. Despite what both parties view as…
Today’s agenda includes both House and Senate floor sessions followed by a Senate committee meeting. Of particular interest, during the Senate Session, the Senate will consider its school safety bill (which has now been renamed “Implementation of Legislative Recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Public Safety Commission”) – on 2nd Reading. Several amendments have…
The Florida House bill that would require school districts that have had successful voter referendums to share their additional funding with charter schools passed its final committee in the House on Tuesday, with a few significant changes. Its next stop is the House floor. Under this bill, House Bill 7123, districts whose voters approved a…