Florida lawmakers on pace to pass fewer bills than any other session

Session heading into final stretch with most major legislation unfinished

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers are heading into the final stretch of the annual session with most major legislation unfinished. 

Lawmakers are on pace to pass fewer bills than in any other session since the legislature began meeting every year in 1968.

The session will end on May 1 unless extra time is needed to finish the budget. In seven weeks, 26 bills have been sent to the governor.

Most of the bills are inconsequential, but the final nine days are likely to see marathon sessions.

"A lot of things can happen, probably will happen very quickly in the next few weeks,” said Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez.

In the 1990s, the legislation that ultimately led to Florida winning billions of dollars from tobacco companies was described as a technical change in the late hours of the final day.

This is a time when bills come back to life says author, lawyer and lobbyist, Pete Dunbar.

Last week, a Senate committee passed five bills, each averaging a hundred pages, in five minutes.