FIRST WEEKS OF SESSION TO BE QUIET IN HOUSE
By DAVID ROYSE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Dec. 21 , 2011….. House Speaker Dean Cannon told members Wednesday that the House will work mostly in committees the first several weeks of session and likely won't pass any major legislation early on.
"We anticipate spending significantly less time on the floor, in formal session, than we did last year," Cannon said in a note to House members. "I do not expect any major floor action during the first several weeks of session."
That contrasts with the Senate, which plans a vote on the redistricting bill, likely by the second week, according to its president.
Cannon also said he intends for the House, as it did last year, to avoid withdrawing House bills from committees without a vote, and to avoid taking up any Senate bills if their House companions haven't gone through the committee process and reached the House calendar.
Cannon, an Orlando Republican, about to begin his second session in charge of the House, has warned that lawmakers will spend much time on redistricting and trying to balance the budget, leaving little room for other major issues to be considered. Bills that would expand gambling, for example, will be "an uphill lift," in the Legislature in the coming session, largely because of the all-consuming nature of the other two issues. Cannon also is opposed to expanding gambling, but he has made it clear that his personal objection to it won't determine whether the issue finally comes up for a vote.
In his memo to House members on Wednesday, Cannon said that policy subcommittees will meeting during the first four weeks of the session, which starts Jan. 10.
Budget subcommittees will generally be expected to complete work on their parts of the preliminary budget during the first three weeks of the session, though they'll be able to take up individual member bills during weeks five and six, Cannon said.
The committees that deal with local bills, public records exemption reviews and claims bills may be given extra time in early February to deal with those issues.
Other full committees, both those that deal with policy and the budget committees, will continue to meet through week seven of the session in late February, Cannon said.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, has said he wants to wait as long as possible before the Legislature puts the finishing touches on the budget, to allow for a possible rebound in tax collections. Haridopolos has suggested the Senate might not even take up the budget during the regular session, but could wait until later in the year, since the session is early this year and the fiscal year deadline doesn't come until July 1.
Cannon has been cool to that idea, though he hasn't specifically said when he wants the House to vote on the budget bill.
Both leaders have said they want to get redistricting finished sooner rather than later – with Haridopolos having said recently he anticipates a full committee vote on the redistricting bill the first week of the session and then a floor vote the following week.
"And then send it off to the courts as quickly as possible for the simple idea that most people would like to have the districts set, and if the courts choose to say we didn't do it to their standards, then we'll have a second bite at the apple," Haridopolos said during a recent interview.
Under Senate rules, the last day for committee meetings is Feb. 28.
The session is scheduled to end March 9.
