2013-14 Budget News

(Updated 4/23/13) The budget conference process has begun. Both the House and Senate have appointed their conferees who will be charged with working out the differences between the House and the Senate on the budget. If you would like to see more information on the Conference Committee and the schedule of their meetings, click on the following link: Florida Legislature Budget Conference

We will provide updates as the conference process takes place. We have created a table to compare key issues affecting the state university system. This table, along with links to the respective appropriations bills, can be found on our 2013-14 Budget page.

2013 Legislative Session

(Updated 4/16/13) The 2013 legislative session is entering the final weeks. Check the Latest News section at the top of the page for information on bills moving through the legislature. The legislative session lasts 60 days. The Legislature will focus on working out a deal on the budget and also passing bills that are high priority to the leadership. With over 1,000 bills filed, the legislature has it's work cut out for it.

We have updated the list of High Priority Bills for the current session. This list will be updated weekly and will allow you to track the progress of these bills. If you would like to view the current list and the bill history for each, click the following link: 2013 High Priority Bills

2013-14 Employee Benefits News

(Updated 4/16/13) We are tracking HB 7011 which was originally filed as a committee bill. It has been passed by the Florida House of Representatives. The Senate received the bill and referred it to the following Senate Committees on April 3rd: Governmental Oversight and Accountability, Community Affairs and Appropriations. The Senate companion bill has not moved since it was place on the Senate Calendar for second reading on April 2nd. To track these bills, please refer vist our 2013-14 Employee Benefits page.

2012 Studies and Task Forces

As a result of legislative and other governmental activity during the 2012 Legislative Session, several task forces and study groups were formed. We have been following the actions of each group over the past 6 months. We will be updating information about the outcomes and recommendations of these groups on our site soon. Please click the link below to find out more about current studies and task forces:

>> 2012 Studies and Task Forces

For more information, contact:

Janice P. Gilley
Director of Governmental Relations and Special Assistant to the President
Phone: (850) 474-2218
Fax: (850) 474-3131
E-mail: jgilley@uwf.edu

Mission:

It is the mission of the Governmental Relations Office to manage communications with governmental stakeholders at the local, state and federal level including agencies and elected officials. The director works with administrators, faculty, staff and students to identify issues for legislative action and works directly with legislators to effectuate outcomes beneficial to the university.