Speaker of the House Crisafulli and Senate President Gardiner released a joint statement on Friday outlining the scope of the special session. They will convene on June 1st at 11 p.m. and promise to have a budget ready for Governor Scott’s signature before the fiscal year expires at midnight on June 30th. They will discuss Medicaid expansion which has been their major issue of contention. From the Tampa Bay Times:
The session agenda also will include discussion of spending one-third of documentary stamp proceeds on voter-approved water and land protections known as Amendment 1; elimination of a certificate of need program for hospital bed expansion and allowing more licensed medical professionals to write prescriptions, both priorities of House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes; a coast-to-coast network of bicycle trails, a priority of Gardiner’s; and a package of tax cuts that’s important to Republican lawmakers and to Gov. Rick Scott.
The House and Senate are still divided on healthcare but Friday’s announcement signals a willingness to move forward. Stay tuned…
