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Florida Senate renovations near completion

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The Florida Senate’s chamber renovations should be done by early-to-mid November. Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta tweeted back on Oct. 5: “Chamber Reno Update — About one month to left to go.” She posted photos showing the chamber with redone walls, new desks, and new carpet going down. As planned, the nearly 40-year-old mural that greeted visitors to the 5th-floor gallery has been removed. Departing Senate President Andy Gardiner has said the mural will be preserved for viewing elsewhere and stored until then. The 10-foot-by-16 foot “Five Flags Mural” greeted visitors to…

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Legislative committee week cancelled

Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran have cancelled next week’s legislative committee week because of Hurricane Irma, they

Florida Senate’s underground parking closed for 2 more years

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The Florida Senate’s underground parking garage won’t reopen for another two years, a state spokeswoman said Monday. It’ll be June 2018 before senators and staffers will again be able to park under the Capitol complex, according to Maggie Mickler, spokeswoman for the Department of Management Services (DMS), which oversees the Capitol. Meantime, DMS has been working with the Senate to assign them new long-term spots. For now, daily Senate employees park in the central underground Capitol garage and downtown surface lots D and E,…

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Still no decision on Florida Senate’s ‘Five Flags Mural’

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With work well underway on renovations of the Florida Senate chamber, there’s still no word on the fate of the decades-old mural that greets visitors to the chamber’s fifth floor public gallery. Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta said Tuesday no final decision has been made about the artwork’s future. This past October, Betta said the mural will be taken down because it’s showing signs of age, including fading and peeling. The “Five Flags Mural” also happens to depict a Confederate flag, which the Senate previously voted to remove from…

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Legislative committee week cancelled

Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran have cancelled next week’s legislative committee week because of Hurricane Irma, they

Florida Senate renovations proceed apace

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Long overdue renovations in the state’s Senate chamber are under way. Most of it has been gutted in preparation for a fresh look.  FloridaPolitics.com reported last month that the Senate would finally jettison its 1970s look, unchanged since the Capitol first opened, with a nearly $5 million renovation this year. The very day after the Legislature adjourned this year, work began with furniture being hauled off and put in storage. The Florida Channel removed its cameras, and the voting board and related electronics…

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Legislative committee week cancelled

Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran have cancelled next week’s legislative committee week because of Hurricane Irma, they

Judicial term limits bill likely dead in Senate

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A House initiative to place term limits on state Supreme Court justices and appellate judges was assigned to three committees of reference in the Senate late Tuesday: Judiciary, Ethics & Elections, and Rules. Under Senate rules, though, “Unless approved by the President, no committee shall meet after the fiftieth (50th) day of a regular session except the Rules Committee.” Tuesday was the 50th day of the 2016 Legislative Session, which is scheduled concludes March 11. “It received the same references as the Senate companion, which was…

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New state Senate seats renumbered

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Staff from the Florida Senate and Auditor General’s office met Tuesday to assign random numbers to districts in the state’s new Senate District map. Here are the results, with the first number being the district number on the map as adopted by Circuit Judge George Reynolds; the second is the new randomly assigned district number. Same numbers means districts stay the same: 1-2 2-1 3-3 4-4 5-5 6-7 7-8 8-12 9-6 10-9 11-10 12-11 13-14 14-13 15-22 16-17 17-18 18-20 19-19 20-16…

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Senate submits proposed redistricting map

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In the ongoing saga over state Senate redistricting, everything old is new again. The state Senate on Wednesday disclosed its proposed fix for its gerrymandered districts, a mash-up of two previous maps: One was passed by the Senate, another was drawn but not voted on in the recent Special Session. Because lawmakers couldn’t agree, it’s now up to Circuit Judge George Reynolds to recommend a map to the Florida Supreme Court for adoption. A trial is set for the week of Dec. 14.…

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