We are pleased to announce the publication of the FSBA 2019 Legislative Session Summary. Our Summary provides an in-depth analysis of the education related funding in the state budget and detailed summaries of the education related bills passed during the session. We will update our Summary if, during the coming days, Governor DeSantis chooses to veto any of the budget allocations or any of the legislation we’ve included in our Summary and we will alert you to those changes. In the meantime, our Session Summary is posted on our Legislative Session page or you may access it directly by clicking HERE.
Also, please be reminded that FSBA will be holding a series of Legislative Session Review Workshops and Webinars next week. These on-site workshops and on-line webinars are free of charge but registration is required. [PLEASE NOTE that hard copies of our FSBA 2019 Legislative Session Summary will be available at the on-site Workshops, but ONLY for those who have registered.] The dates, times, locations, and registration links for our Workshops and Webinars are posted on the FSBA website – to access the information, please click on the “Session Review Workshops“ link on our home page or access the information directly by clicking HERE.
On a related note, just as they are wrapping up the 2019 Legislative Session, legislators are already planning for the 2020 Legislative Session. The Florida Constitution sets the schedule for the start of the Legislative Session in odd-numbered years as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March (as was the case this year) and in even-numbered years as the second Tuesday after the first Monday in January (as will be the case next year). With this in mind, the 2020 Legislative Session will convene on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, and is scheduled to adjourn 60 days later on Friday, March 13, 2020. With the “early” Session start date, the House and Senate have just released the schedule for Legislative Interim Committee Meetings that will be held in advance of the 2020 Legislative Session as follows:
Week 1: September 16-20, 2019
Week 2: October 14-18, 2019
Week 3: October 21-25, 2019
Week 4: November 4-8, 2019
Week 5: November 12-15, 2019
Week 6: December 9-13, 2019
These Interim Committee Meetings are often devoted to providing legislators with presentations and background information in key issues that will be before the Legislature and also may provide the first hearing on bills filed for consideration during the 2020 Session. The time before and during these Interim Meetings is an important opportunity to advocate with your legislators and in your community on issues that are of local importance, so please mark your calendars and begin to consider how best to use this time before the 2020 Legislative Session begins.
