Tallahassee – State lawmakers returned to Tallahassee on Monday of this week, finally approving a state budget late in the evening, officially ending their 2017 regular session. Originally scheduled to end on the previous Friday, both Houses agreed to a three-day extension to accommodate the 72-hour “cooling off” period required before a final vote could be taken on the budget.
Tallahassee – With less than 48 hours remaining in the Legislature’s 2017 regular session, we have learned the trial bar has not given up on their attempt to repeal PIP and replace with a mandatory bodily injury coverage requirement. Several bills on the Senate’s calendar could be vehicles for amendments and those bills are likely to receive consideration either today or tomorrow.
Tallahassee – State lawmakers finally reached preliminary agreement late last week – the next to the last week of their 2017 regular session – on the broad outline of a state government spending plan for the next fiscal year. Now the race is on to hammer out the details before Tuesday of this week, the date the final budget must be placed on members’ desks to meet the required 72-hour “cooling-off” period before a final vote can occur on this Friday, the last scheduled day of their annual 60-day session. On-time adjournment is once again a possibility.
Tallahassee – Committees in both the Florida House and Senate spent much of their seventh week this session readying individual bills for consideration on the floor. Many completed their work for the year and will not meet again, with just a few scheduled to wrap up their agendas early next week.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 – 2:40 p.m., Tallahassee – Moments ago the full Florida House passed their version of a bill proposing to repeal Florida’s decades-old no-fault auto insurance system and replace it with a new at-fault system requiring drivers to carry mandatory bodily injury and property damage coverage. The proposal, HB 1063 by Rep. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), passed on a vote of 89 to 29 after slightly over a half-hour of debate.
Legislative Updates 