Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul has sent this message out to his members this afternoon:
This is to provide each of you with the best information I have available about the possibility of a special session in December.
Constructive conversations in recent days have encouraged the hope that a special session on passenger rail may in fact occur. While we have no agreement to do so, if President Atwater and I do convene a session, I expect that it would begin on Thursday, December 3, and end on or before Thursday, December 10. This would complete any work before Hanukkah begins on December 11.
Please be prepared for the House to revise its previously announced December meeting schedule if and when a Proclamation is issued.
I wish you all a joyous and memorable Thanksgiving Day.
The session is being called for lawmakers to try to work out a deal regarding SunRail, the proposed Central Florida commuter rail line that has been held up over the past couple of sessions due to questions about the liability factor that CSX has wanted to impose on state taxpayers. That plan has been held up by Lakeland State Senator Paula Dockery, who as we reported here previously, does not believe that those issues have been sufficiently addressed, though some of her colleagues disagree.
As Florida hopes to win $2.5 billion for a proposed high-speed rail line, the Federal government has indicated that the state needs to show they are serious by demonstrating that the state can handle their
This article appears in Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2009.