The 2015 legislative session begins today, March 3rd. Members of the House and Senate spent the three weeks in February attending meetings in Tallahassee preparing for the session. Today, legislators will return to Tallahassee to conduct the state’s business under the leadership of Central Floridians – Senate President Andy Gardiner (R- Orlando) and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R- Merritt Island). They have highlighted their priorities in a five-point “Work Plan 2015,” which you can read about here.
Meanwhile, Governor Rick Scott released his proposed $77 billion budget on January 28th. Called “Keep Florida Working,” his budget focuses on increased funding for education, investment in job opportunities, more tax cuts and strengthening communities throughout the state. For highlights of his plan, go here. The Legislature has already started its budget building process with members hearing presentations in their respective appropriations subcommittees.
In this edition, we have outlined some of the issues the Legislature is expected to address during its sixty-day regular session, as well as some other issues of interest that we are following.