G O V E R N M E N T A L R E L A T I O N S
G O V E R N M E N T A L R E L A T I O N S
May 29, 1997
For the first time in 122 years, Republicans led both the House and the Senate. Prior to the 1997 Legislative Session's March 5th start, Republican leaders proclaimed big changes to the status quo at the Capitol. They also vowed to make education their priority during the 60 day session. When the handkerchief dropped at 5:59 PM on May 2, signaling the conclusion of the session, they had fulfilled almost all of their promises. The GOP leadership made sure Floridians saw a sharp contrast to the late-night chaos of previous sessions, concluding just in time to go live on the 6:00 news.
All in all, the university system had a successful session. The state's 10 universities received $179 million in new money, and legislators authorized another $30 million in tuition increases (see 1997-98 legislative budget summary). Florida State University also fared well this session, due in part to the quality and placement of our legislative alumni.
While several of the SUS priority bills passed, the bill giving universities more flexibility in purchasing, property acquisition, construction authority and other areas again failed to pass this session (see spotlight on bills summary) .
With this year's legislative session barely over, we now turn our attention to next year's budget and legislative agenda. The Board of Regents requires us to submit a budget proposal by early June.
In this final edition of the '97 LegisLetter , I have summarized the legislation that passed and updated you on legislation of interest that did not pass. If you are looking for a bill that does not appear in this newsletter, please feel free to contact me at 644-4453 or by e-mail at kdaly@govrel.fsu.edu.
Kathleen Daly
1997-98 Legislative Budget Summary
Selected Appropriations Issues
