It is likely that Budget Conference Committees will meet today to continue their efforts to work out differences between the House and Senate budgets. Meanwhile, both chambers will hold floor sessions to consider several bills of interest including bills relating to mental health, personnel, workforce education, and elections. Today’s schedule is posted below and will…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
As we begin the seventh week of the Legislative Session, please take a few minutes to watch our FSBA Week 6 Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the sixth week of the Session. In addition, this is a good time to provide a quick update…
Today’s agenda includes House and Senate committee meetings and a House floor session. Of particular interest, the Senate will consider its school safety bill — SB 7030 – and the House will consider a PCB relating to taxation and tax relief. The House floor session provides 3rd Reading on several bills of interest that had…
Florida school districts that successfully pushed for a special local property tax to better fund public education would have to share that money with charter schools, under a bill filed this week in the Legislature. The measure, proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee, would allow the state to withhold other sources of money…
Today’s agenda includes both Senate committee meetings and House and Senate floor sessions. Bills of interest under consideration today include bills relating to term limits for school board members, parental rights, school choice, local referenda, career education, public records, and government accountability. Today’s schedule is posted below and will be updated to show the outcome on…