Volume 7

April 6, 1998

Number 6
Conferees were named and the conference process began during the fifth week of the legislative session. Senate President Toni Jennings and House Speaker Dan Webster have asked the conferees to complete their work by Thursday, April 9, in time for the Passover/Easter break. Any differences in the budget that remain after the ninth will be "bumped up" to the leadership. A conference completion date has been set for April 16th which will give the legislators more than enough time to print and distribute the budget and adhere to the 72-hour "cooling-off" period before taking a final vote on the finished product.

Last week - the midpoint of the session - the House Colleges and Universities Committee met for the last time this session to discuss changes to the Bright Futures statute (see related story). The Senate Education Committee, meanwhile, will continue to meet for a few more weeks. The Florida State Medical School bill passed the House Education Innovation Committee by a vote of 6 to 2 last Thursday. It was amended to expand our one-year PIMS program to two years.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions and appreciate your input during this busy time of year. I can be reached at 644-4453 or by e-mail:kdaly@govrel.fsu.edu..

Kathleen Daly