Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Senate bills are floating in

posted by khaughney on August, 29 2011 3:59 PM

TALLAHASSEE — With lawmakers set to be in Tallahassee in only a few weeks for a round of committee meetings, lawmakers are starting to file legislation that will be seen in the 2012 legislative session.

We’ll be updating you periodically with legislation being filed. Here are a few that have been filed so far in the Senate.

* Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, wants a 6 percent tax on bottled water. She’s filed the bill before, but it has not gone far with Senate President Mike Haridopolos‘ firm stance against new taxes.

* Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is also pushing his veterans’ court bill again this year. The legislation, if passed, would let veterans convicted of a crime first have a hearing to determine if they were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. If they are, the veteran would be diverted to some treatment program.

* Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, wants the state to enter a $100,000 contract with an outside entity to conduct a review of the state’s education financing program.

* Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has again filed a Public Service Commission ethics bill that puts limits on former commissioners and PSC staff who wish to lobby and makes communications about PSC matters between commissioners and the staff more easily available to the public.