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Times staff writer, Associated PressToday is the third day of the 60-day session.
Gov. Jeb Bush and state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher are expected to announce today a citizens' petition drive to ask voters to repeal a 2000 constitutional amendment requiring the state to build a high-speed rail system.
The joint press conference, set for 11 a.m. at the Capitol, comes a day after the House Subcommittee on Transportation Systems voted 3-6 to kill a legislative resolution that would have put the question on the November general election ballot. And it comes even as lawmakers contemplate making it harder for citizens' petitions to make it to the ballot.
Bush, a longtime foe of the high-speed train, has been frustrated by lawmakers' refusal to put the repeal on the ballot in recent years.
Without repeal, Bush says the proposed five-city train would drain state resources from schools and other state services.
Proponents have said the train is necessary to ensure Florida's future transportation needs are met.
Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, who has been trying for two years to force a repeal vote on high-speed rail, said he welcomed Gallagher's clout on the issue.
Gallagher and Bush, "can bring a lot of attention to the issue," Allen said.
JONI JAMES
King: Expect seat belt bill to crashThe House moved ahead Wednesday with a measure to allow police to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts, despite warnings from Senate President Jim King that it won't go anywhere there.
A vote on HB 15 by the full House could come as early as today. Currently, police can ticket drivers for not wearing a seat belt, but only if they pull them over for something else.
Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, who annually sponsors such a bill, has always been stymied by a reluctant Senate. And King, R-Jacksonville, said Wednesday, "I think it will get the same consideration in the Senate that it has gotten in years past. None."
King says passage of such a law would open the door to racial profiling by traffic officers.
Slosberg said he would join U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta at a news conference today to talk about $37-million in federal highway safety money that could be available to Florida if the Legislature passes the bill.
Pharmacists would have to see IDsPharmacists would have to ask customers for IDs before handing over prescriptions under a bill approved Wednesday by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
SB 214's sponsor, Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, said many pharmacies now just hand over drugs to whomever shows up to collect them, without asking questions. That means the pharmacies can unwittingly allow individuals to engage in prescription drug abuse, Crist said.
The bill would not prevent people from picking up medications for their spouses, children or others if they are authorized to do so, Crist claimed.
The bill would also make it a third-degree felony to use a false or stolen ID to obtain prescription drugs.
No equivalent bill has been filed in the House.
- ASSOCIATED PRESS
For information about legislation, call 1-800-342-1827 or 1-850-488-4371 toll-free during business hours. The Legislature's official Web site: www.leg.state.fl.us