Leon County’s lawmakers are meeting Monday to hear from voters ahead of the 2018 legislative session. Senator Bill Montford and Representatives Ramon Alexander, Loranne Ausley and Halsey Beshears are expected to be there.
Montford wants citizens to know lawmakers are already reviewing bills and taking votes in the committee process. He spoke with WFSU’s Perspectives earlier this month.
“And decisions are made in committee meetings. Those are really where decisions are made. Now we’ll go to the floor, but that ball is rolling. No one needs to wait until January to get involved,” Montford said.
Montford is worried about state lawmakers passing expenses on to local governments.
“As a county commissioner many years ago I was on the receiving end of those unfunded mandates. And we’re continuing to do that. The question that I ask a lot in committee meetings is who’s going to pay for this? Are we passing this on?” Montford said.
Now Montford and his colleagues hope to hear what’s on voters’ minds Monday night as they head into the 2018 Legislative Session.