Three weeks remain until state lawmakers will pack their bags and head back to Tallahassee for a special legislative session to complete the work on Florida’s massive $77 billion budget, and as legislators gear up to nail down the specifics, some look back on special sessions past for insight on conflict resolution.
This year’s special session revolves around an impasse over whether or not Florida should expand Medicaid, an issue which has pitted the House and Gov. Rick Scott against the Senate. The Senate wants to expand Medicaid, while the House and Gov. Scott staunchly oppose it.
At the end of April, when the House realized there would be no agreement on the budget in time to end the regular 60-day session, it adjourned three days early, sealing the deal for a special session this summer.
The term “special session” can be anxiety-inducing to some, but to seasoned politicos, they’re simply all part of the bargaining political process.
Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-Aventura, recalled a time when lawmakers came back not once, not twice, but five times to hammer out the state budget in the middle of a recession. According to the state Constitution, it’s the only thing lawmakers are required to work out by the end of the legislative session.
By: Allison Nielsen | Posted: May 11, 2015 8:04 PM
