Florida lawmakers have already filed more than 300 bills for the legislative session beginning March 7 -- but some highly anticipated legislation has yet to appear.
Powerful business interests are up in arms over a nearly 15 percent hike in workers’ compensation insurance rates, and House and Senate leaders have promised to tackle the issue.
Any kind of a fix would require lawmakers to undo controversial court rulings that restored benefits for injured workers and lifted an arbitrary cap on attorney fees. Industry lobbyists are keeping up the pressure, but nothing has been filed yet.
Meanwhile, environmentalists are eagerly awaiting Tampa Senator Dana Young to make good on her November promise to file a ban on hydraulic fracturing. An aide Tuesday that nothing has changed and Young will be making an announcement soon.
