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| 2004-06 Florida Legislature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 Seal of the State of Florida | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Florida Legislature | ||||
| Meeting place | Florida Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida | ||||
| Election | November 2, 2004 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 40 (26 R, 14 D) | ||||
| President | Tom Lee (R) | ||||
| President pro tem | Charlie Clary (R) | ||||
| Majority leader | J. Alex Villalobos (R) (until May 1, 2006) Daniel Webster (R) (from May 1, 2006) | ||||
| Minority leader | Les Miller (D) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
| Members | 120 (84 R, 36 D) | ||||
| Speaker | Allan Bense (R) | ||||
| Speaker pro tem | Leslie Waters (R) | ||||
| Majority leader | Andy Gardiner (R) | ||||
| Minority leader | Chris Smith (D) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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The 2004-06 Florida Legislature was the legislature of the U.S. state of Florida following the 2004 general election, occurring during the final two years of Governor Jeb Bush's second term. It was the 19th legislature convened under the 1968 Constitution and the 82th since statehood in 1845.
In the November 2, 2004 elections, the Republican Party gained three seats in the House of Representatives for a 84-36 majority, while maintaining their 26-14 majority in the Senate.
The legislature met in five sessions: a one-day organization session on November 16, 2004; a special session ("A") from December 13 to 17, 2004; the 2005 regular session from March 8 to May 6; a special session ("B") from December 5 to 8, 2005; and the 2006 regular session from March 7 to May 5.[1][2]
Party summary
editSenate
editSenate membership did not change during the course of the 2004-06 term.[3][4]
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | |||||
| End of previous legislature | 14 | 26 | 40 | 0 | ||
| Begin (November 2004) | 14 | 26 | 40 | 0 | ||
| Final voting share | 35% | 65% | ||||
| Beginning of next legislature | 14 | 26 | 40 | 0 | ||
House of Representatives
editMembership changed with the death of David Coley and the subsequent election of his wife, Marti Coley, to succeed him. The party balance changed with one switch in party affiliation.[5]
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | ||||
| End of previous legislature | 39 | 81 | 120 | 0 | |
| Begin (November 2004) | 36 | 84 | 120 | 0 | |
| March 25, 2005 | 83 | 119 | 1 | Republican David Coley (District 7) died. | |
| June 14, 2005 | 84 | 120 | 0 | Republican Marti Coley was elected to District 7. | |
| January 10, 2006 | 35 | 85 | Sheri McInvale (District 36) changed party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.[6] | ||
| Final voting share | 29.2% | 70.8% | |||
| Beginning of next legislature | 42 | 78 | 120 | 0 | |
Major legislation and events
editSenate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allan Bense called a special session ("A") for December 13–17, 2004 to address several issues, including a state pre-kindergarten program and relief measures in response to the active 2004 hurricane season.[7] Lawmakers set up a universal pre-K program pursuant to a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2002, which mandated such a program. The legislature also passed measures relating to property tax relief, beach repair, hurricane insurance, citrus canker, and juvenile justice funding, among other items.[8]
The 2005 regular session resulted in several major pieces of legislation:
- Law 1
- Law 2
During the 2006 regular session, the legislature passed several significant new laws:
- Law 1
- Law 2
Senate leadership contest
editThe 2004-06 legislative term was marked by a notable leadership battle. In 2005, the Senate Republican caucus elected moderate Republican Senator J. Alex Villalobos to be president for the 2008-10 term. In early 2006, however, conservative Senator Jeff Atwater attempted to challenge Villalobos for the leadership, and a group of Republican senators withdrew their pledges from Villalobos. Atwater had previously been seeking the presidency for 2010-12, so his "coup" attempt had consequences for that leadership contest, too.
By February 10, Atwater was claiming that he had the needed votes from his Republican colleagues to be president, but Villalobos did not concede.[9] The struggle between the two camps grew fiercer over the next few months.[10] On May 1, 2006, President Tom Lee removed Villalobos from his position as majority leader after Villalobos cast the deciding vote against a measure to expand school vouchers.[11] Villalobos survived a conservative primary election challenge in September, but Atwater eventually secured enough pledges and was formally elected president-designate in 2007.[12][13]
The Villalobos-Atwater leadership fight ...
Members
editSenate
editHouse of Representatives
editReferences
edit- ^ "1998-99 Senate Journal" (PDF). archive.flsenate.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
- ^ "1999-2000 Senate Journal" (PDF). archive.flsenate.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
senjournal97was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
senjournal98was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Florida House of Representatives - Historic Journals". www.myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ^ Billman, Jeffrey (October 12, 2006). "Can This Guy Knock Off Sheri McInvale?". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Kennedy, John; Postal, Leslie (December 13, 2004). "Legislators Tackle Dual Frustrations". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Kleindienst, Linda; Hollis, Mark (December 17, 2004). "Legislators Approve Pre-k Plan". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Kleindienst, Linda; Kennedy, John (February 10, 2006). "Atwater Claims Enough Votes To Be Senate Chief". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Bousquet, Steve (March 20, 2006). "Power plays in state Senate". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Bousquet, Steve; James, Joni (May 1, 2006). "Majority leader is out of a job". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Bousquet, Steve (September 9, 2006). "Attacks only made Villalobos stronger in Senate". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ "Atwater Designated as Next Year's Florida Senate President". WCTV. December 11, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ a b Year first elected to their current time in office. Members may have previously served other, non-consecutive stints.
External links
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