Keywords: 999, senate, all

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Summary: The Florida Senate convened in special session for budget conference work, opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and moments of silence honoring Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Mateer and former Senator Bill Posey. The Secretary read the joint proclamation calling the special session, which was limited to budget and related conforming legislation, including appropriations, implementing bills, collective bargaining/state employees, retirement, law enforcement radio system, health, higher education, K-12 education, government administration, correctional facilities, judges, documentary stamp tax distributions, petroleum cleanup, fuel taxes, and taxation. Senators also heard Chair Hooper outline the process for moving identical Senate bills and House companion bills into conference posture. The Senate then took up and passed several Senate bills and House companion bills, generally by 32-0 votes, after adopting delete-all/insert-nothing amendments to place the Senate language onto the House vehicles. Bills addressed fuel taxes and Inland Protection Trust Fund distributions, the state agency law enforcement radio system surcharge, judicial certification, K-12 education conforming changes, retirement, higher education, health care, collective bargaining/state employees, government administration, correctional facilities financing and capital improvements, documentary stamp tax distributions, petroleum cleanup programs, and taxation. In debate on the tax bill, Leader Berman urged consideration of suspending the motor fuel tax to provide relief at the pump, but the House-passed tax bill did not pass as received, and the Senate requested conference instead. The chamber also processed the main budget measures: Senate Bill 2500E and House Bill 5001E for the General Appropriations Act, and Senate Bill 2502E and House Bill 5003E for the implementing bill. After substituting the House bills and adopting conforming amendments, the Senate passed them and requested conference. For the remaining House bills, the Senate either passed them as amended and then acceded to or requested conference on the House request. The session concluded with a motion to waive rules for publishing the Special Order Calendar for the remainder of the special session, an announcement that the Special Order Calendar Group would not meet on May 12 or 13, and adjournment upon the call of the President for committee meetings and other Senate business.

Summary: The conference committee for the House Justice Budget Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Civil and Criminal Justice convened to organize its work on the budget conference process. Senator Garcia nominated Representative Meini as chair and was then nominated and approved as vice chair; both motions were adopted without objection. Members exchanged brief opening remarks expressing appreciation and a desire to work collaboratively to finalize the conference report. The chair explained that the House had provided the Senate with the original conference documents, including positions on the budget proviso, back-of-the-bill language, implementing bills, and conforming bills, all previously voted on by each chamber. The House also presented an offer on the budget proviso and back-of-the-bill language, with the chair noting that it attempted to move closer to the Senate on several issues. Senator Garcia said the Senate would review the offer. No public comment was offered. Senator Simon moved to adjourn, and the committee adjourned without objection.

Summary: The House Pre-K through 12 Education Budget Conference convened and first organized by naming Rep. Persons-Mulicka as chair and Sen. Burgess as vice chair, both without objection. The chair welcomed members and noted the conference would work to reconcile the Pre-K-12 budget for fiscal year 2026-27. Sen. Burgess briefly thanked the House team and said he looked forward to resolving outstanding issues in the budget silo. The chair then presented House Offer Number 1, explaining the spreadsheet format and identifying items where the House proposed changes. Key points included additional non-recurring child care and development funds to prevent any child from being disenrolled from the school readiness program in FY 2026-27, listed as a new issue, and agreement to the Senate’s position on $200,000 for patriotic portraits in classrooms. The House also maintained its proposed $100 million teacher salary increase, focused on veteran teachers, and adjusted the base student allocation increase to match the Senate’s $50 increase. The offer also included a separate project spreadsheet and statewide summary materials, along with proviso and back-of-the-bill language aligned with the House budget offer. No members of the public spoke, no questions were raised, and the meeting ended after Rep. Valdés moved to rise, which was accepted without objection.

Summary: The Conference Committee on the House State Administration Budget and the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations met to organize the committee and begin budget negotiations. Representative Maggard was nominated and approved as chair, and Senator Broder was nominated and approved as vice chair. Members were given the initial side-by-side budget materials, including the starting positions, the House offer, and related proviso, back-of-the-bill, implementing, and conforming bill documents. The House presented its first offer to the Senate on the budget, proviso projects, and back-of-the-bill items, saying it had moved closer to the Senate on several issues and identifying changes in the highlighted budget figures. Senator Broder said the Senate would review the offer and respond later, likely not that evening. The Senate then presented an offer to the House on its conforming bill, SB 2508E, concerning the State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System, and the House said it would review and follow up. There was no public comment. Members were told to watch for notice of the next meeting, possibly the following day, and were reminded they were on one-hour notice. The committee then adjourned without objection.

Summary: The House Budget and Senate Appropriations Conference Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development met to organize the conference and begin budget negotiations. Members unanimously adopted motions naming Representative Schof as chair and Senator DeSigley as vice chair. Staff then presented the initial side-by-side comparison of the TED conference budget materials, including spreadsheets, projects, proviso, back of the bill, implementing bill, and conforming bill, along with a House offer to the Senate. The House noted that gray rows reflected items already agreed to and black-highlighted rows showed changes in the House offer, which was described as a good-faith effort to move toward Senate positions. Senator Hooper said the Senate would review the offer and respond after working through the first proposal, noting that initial offers typically take time to evaluate. No public comment was offered. The committee announced it was on one-hour notice for the next meeting and adjourned without objection.

Summary: The Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference Committee convened and was formally organized by adopting motions naming Representative Snyder as chair and Senator Brodeur as vice chair. Members were told that an original side-by-side packet had been provided showing the starting positions for the budget, proviso, back of the bill, implementing bill, and conforming bills. Senator Brodeur then presented the Senate’s offer to the House on the budget, proviso, back of the bill, implementing bill, projects, and the Senate conforming bill, SB 2506E, which relates to fuel taxes. He noted that highlighted figures in the budget spreadsheet showed where the Senate had moved. The House said it would review the offer and return with a response, and both sides expressed a willingness to continue working through the budget issues. There was no public comment. Members were advised to watch for notice of the next meeting, likely the following day, with one-hour notice. Senator Truenow moved to adjourn, and the committee adjourned without objection.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Conference held its first meeting and formally organized the committee. Senator Trimble moved to nominate Representative Ondrade as chair and Senator Trumbull as vice chair; both motions were adopted without objection. Senator Trumbull then noted that members had received the initial side-by-side conference documents showing the House and Senate positions on the health care budget, projects proviso, and back-of-the-bill implementing conforming bills, with areas of agreement highlighted. The House side characterized the documents as its initial offer and expressed optimism about working through the conference process collaboratively. No substantive policy debate occurred at this meeting. Senator Trumbull moved to adjourn, and the committee adjourned without objection.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Keywords: 998, house, all

Keywords: 998, house, all

Summary: The Senate convened in special session, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and observed a moment of silence for Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Mateer. The Secretary then read the special session proclamation, which limited the session to budget-related matters including the General Appropriations Act, implementing bill, collective bargaining/state employee issues, retirement, law enforcement radio system funding, health, higher education, K-12 education, government administration, corrections, judges, documentary stamp tax distributions, petroleum cleanup, fuel taxes, and taxation. Chair Hooper outlined the process for handling Senate and House budget bills and conference posture. The Senate took up and passed several Senate bills, including SB 2506E on fuel taxes, SB 2508E on the state agency law enforcement radio system, SB 2512E on judges, and SB 2514E on K-12 education, each by 32-0. The chamber then received House bills and, for each, adopted delete-all amendments to place the Senate language onto the House vehicle or delete everything to prepare for conference. Bills addressed included HB 7031E (taxation), HB 5701E (petroleum cleanup programs), HB 5203E (government administration), HB 5207E (Department of Management Services), HB 5403E (correctional facilities financing and capital improvements), HB 5501E (documentary stamp tax distributions), HB 5001E (the General Appropriations Act), HB 5003E (implementing bill), HB 5201E (collective bargaining), HB 5205E (retirement), HB 5601E (higher education), and HB 5301E (health care). Most passed 32-0, with HB 5403E passing 31-0. During debate on HB 7031E, Leader Berman urged consideration of suspending the motor fuel tax to provide immediate relief at the pump, citing high gas prices. The Senate ultimately passed the House bill as amended and then acceded to the House request for conference on the taxation package and the other House bills. The Senate also substituted HB 5001E for SB 2500E and HB 5003E for SB 2502E, and similarly substituted House bills for the related Senate conforming bills before voting to send them to conference. At the close of business, the Senate observed a moment of silence for former Senator Bill Posey. The Rules Chair announced the Special Order Calendar Group would not meet that day or the next, and the Senate adopted a motion to establish the special order calendar for the remainder of the special session by website publication and Secretary announcement. The Senate then adjourned upon the call of the President for committee meetings and other business.

Summary: The Senate convened in special session and took up Senate Bill 8D, later substituting identical House Bill 1D, to establish Florida’s congressional districts. The opening prayer and Pledge of Allegiance were followed by procedural remarks, then extensive floor discussion focused almost entirely on the redistricting proposal, its timing, and its legal basis. Senator Gaetz, explaining the bill, said the Governor had transmitted the map two days earlier, argued that mid-decade congressional redistricting is not prohibited by law, and said the Governor’s stated reasons were to address population growth and to draw race-neutral districts. He also said the legislature could accept, reject, or amend the proposal. Much of the debate centered on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Louisiana decision and whether it affected Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. Senators Smith, Rouson, Sharief, Polsky, Arrington, Bracey Davis, Bernard, Nathan, and others questioned the short notice, lack of public hearings, the use of partisan data, the absence of sworn testimony, and whether the map diluted minority voting strength or fragmented communities of interest. Gaetz repeatedly said he was not offering legal opinions, that the Governor’s counsel believed the Fair Districts race-based provisions were inconsistent with federal law, and that any legal challenge would be for the courts. He also said the Governor’s mapmaker reported using census and demographic data, along with political data as one of many inputs, and claimed the map’s compactness was comparable to the current map. A motion by Senator Smith to temporarily postpone consideration of the bill failed on a 12-23 vote. After the Senate returned from a 30-minute break to review the new Supreme Court decision, debate continued. The chamber then substituted HB 1D for SB 8D, read the House bill, and advanced it to third reading. The transcript ends during debate on final passage, with Senators Rouson and Bernard speaking in opposition and arguing the map was procedurally rushed, legally vulnerable, and politically motivated.

Keywords: 999, senate, all