State lawmakers will convene in the Florida Capitol March 3 to kick off the 2015 legislative session. In addition to passing a roughly $77 billion budget, legislators are expected to tackle a slew of other issues. Gov. Rick Scott’s budget proposal anticipates a nearly $1 billion surplus and includes a record setting increase in per-student spending in public education and $673 million in tax cuts.
For the past two years, Florida lawmakers have resisted efforts to expand the state’s Medicaid program through the Affordable Care Act, but the projected loss of billions of dollars a year in federal funding for hospitals serving low-income patients has bolstered efforts to convince lawmakers to change their minds.
Environmental issues will also take center stage as lawmakers will have to decide how to divvy up hundreds of millions of dollars set aside for land and water conservation. The state’s troubled Department of Corrections and Department of Children and Families will also be priorities, as will bills related to guns, gambling and high-stakes testing in Florida schools. Join our political analysis team for a closer examination of this year’s hot button issues and legislative proposals.
Guests:
Roger Green, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science at Florida Gulf Coast University
Betty Parker, “Parker on Politics” columnist for the News-Press
