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Weekly Update from Senator Greg Evers

January 13, 2012

This week in the Capitol, the Senate Reapportionment Committee approved the maps to redraw our Senate and Congressional district lines for the next 10 years. The two proposals will be up for a vote by the full Senate next week, and I hope the chamber will adopt our good proposals and we can pass them on to our colleagues in the House.

I invite those of you who are interested in viewing our plans to do so by visiting www.flsenate.gov/redistricting.

Also this week, we heard from the General Revenue Estimating Conference where state economists found no significant differences from our last estimates with only a $26 million change in the forecast.  They have confirmed our revenue estimates and projections for growth are stable and on target and the chances of our economy taking another dip in the coming year have gone down. This is good news as we all work to put together the state budget.

On recent bill news, three bills I co-sponsored are moving in the Senate this week. Senate Bill 206, which would give Floridians the right to give public comment at meetings of state and local governments, passed out of the Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections and is now heading to the Senate Committee on Rules for its second committee stop. And Senate Bill 98, which would allow students to lead or participate in prayer at secondary school events, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, its second committee stop. On the agenda for this past week’s Criminal Justice Committee meeting was Senate Bill 858, which I also co-sponsored and would make it a third-degree felony to knowingly and willingly give false information to a law enforcement officer who is working on a missing person’s case that involves a child who is 16 years old or younger. This is a bill that affirms my pledge to help resolve issues surrounding missing children.

I look forward to week 2 of the Session and to hearing your questions or thoughts as proposed bills, maps and proposals that continue to make their way through the process. Please feel free to email me at greg@gregevers.com or call my legislative office at (850) 487-5000.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Greg