John Hallman
June 22, 2021
"No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session."
Gideon John Tucker
The 2021 Florida Legislative Session recently wrapped-up on April 30. We saw many bills pass, that from a limited government and pro-property rights position were disturbing. Governor DeSantis and the Republican legislators pushed through bills that increased taxes, record spending, infringed on private property rights and jeopardized the right to peacefully protest. At the same time, they ignored legislation to protect our right to own and bear arms.
With the 2021 session in our rear-view mirror, we are looking ahead to the 2022 Florida Legislative Session. Legislators are working on bills to file as we speak, and the first Legislative Interim Committee week will start on September 20th.
Interim Committee weeks will begin the legislative work of hearing bills, adding amendments and if reported favorably, moving the bill to the next committee of reference. During Interim Committee weeks, the Legislature may perform all legislative activities except to have floor votes on final passage of a bill, which can only be done during the 60-day regular session.
There will be a total of five Interim Committee weeks preceding the opening of the 60-day regular session, beginning January 11th, 2022.
Interim Committee weeks are also when state agencies will begin to submit their budget requests for the next fiscal year. The first step in creating the state budget begins with the “Long Range Financial Outlook”. The Long-Range Financial Outlook is a constitutionally required report that is approved by the Legislative Budget Commission each year in advance of the regular session. The outlook provides a three-year picture of the state's fiscal position by lining up the estimated budget needs with the estimated revenues.
The Florida Tenther will keep you up-to-date and informed on legislation that affect your liberty. Be sure to check out our “Legislative Bill Tracker” on our web site; www.FloridaTenther.com. We will provide you with up-to-date list of bills, bill sponsors, committee assignments, and explanation of the bill. We also let you know whether we support or oppose each bill and how to take-action on each one of them.
In preparation for the 2022 Regular Legislative Session, here is the schedule for upcoming interim committee meetings:
Monday, September 20 – Friday, September 24, 2021
Monday, October 11 – Friday, October 15, 2021
Monday, October 18 – Friday, October 22, 2021
Monday, November 1 – Friday, November 5, 2021
Monday, November 15 – Friday, November 19, 2021
Monday, November 29 – Friday, December 3, 2021
The 2022 Regular Legislative Session will convene on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
John Hallman is an active, longtime voice in all levels of Florida politics and is a veteran of advocating issues of liberty in the Florida legislature. John has spent the last 20 years learning the real nature of the legislative process in Tallahassee and has learned what works and does not work through his personal experience. Besides his work in Tallahassee, John teaches activist training schools, is a frequent guest on radio talk shows, and has written numerous articles promoting individual liberty and limited government.