The General Elections are over and the Florida Legislature has started preparing for the 2015 Legislative Session. All state legislators were sworn into office on November 18th. Senate President Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island) will lead their chambers for the 2015-16 term. They have selected their leadership teams and Gardiner has assigned members to committees. Executive agency budget chiefs presented their budget requests in public hearings on December 5th.
Governor Rick Scott will be sworn into office on Tuesday, January 6th. He has been holding a series of “Jobs Jamborees” around the state in lieu of an inaugural ball. These informal barbecues have been hosted by Florida businesses in Tampa, Miami, Fort Myers, Orlando, Jacksonville and Pensacola.
The three other cabinet members will be sworn in on January 6th as well. They are Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who all won their reelection bids this November.