According to most of the Pinellas County area GOP state lawmakers who gathered at the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club's meeting at the St. Petersburg Marriott Clearwater on Tuesday, the just completed regular Legislature session was pretty awesome, with lots of love going out to House Speaker Will Weatherford for his fairness.
That's in large part because for the first time in a number of years, the state's revenues were up, allowing legislators to spend money on what they believed were worthwhile projects, instead of making drastic cuts.
"For those of us who have been there the last five, six, seven years, including some former members … it was not always so good … we were taking people's careers away, we were cutting our budget because we have to have a balanced budget," said outgoing Clearwater-area state Rep. Ed Hooper.
This article appears in May 9-15, 2013.