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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Miami Herald
Feb. 28--If the state's economic leaders have their way, Tallahassee is about to get down to business.
The annual legislative session starts next week. And Florida's powerful and varied business interests have prepared ambitious wish lists -- and lobbying efforts -- as they head to the halls of the state capital.
"In order to further diversify Florida's economy and create higher-wage jobs for its citizens, it's imperative that we work to continuously enhance our state's business climate and image following the unusual hurricane season we experienced in 2004," said Chris Corr, a St. Joe Paper executive who chairs the legislative committee for Enterprise Florida, the state's development agency.
These days, work in Tallahassee begins well before the legislative session gets underway. Committees began meeting in November. Already, 15 bills have cleared Senate committees and are ready for full votes as soon as the session opens March 8. In the House, many bills have just one more stop before they go to the floor.
Though the opening gavel has yet to sound, Sen. Ron Klein, R-Boca Raton, has already introduced his insurance reform bill. Earlier this month, he stood in a House conference room with Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, co-sponsoring a bill to create an electric utility task force to study the future needs of the industry.
And this month Klein called a press conference...
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