Bills Starting to Reach Legislative Committees

Presentations have dominated the House and Senate committee sessions this month as legislators prepare for the 2012 session that begins in January.

So when two bills went before the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee Wednesday, one could excuse the apparent excitement of Chairman Doug Holder, R-Sarasota.

However, any excitement was short-lived as both noncontroversial bills HB 4045 and HB 4033 were quickly given unanimous support by the subcommittee.

No comment was offered.

HB 4045, proposed by Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee, eliminates the requirement for the Division of Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco to retain a hard copy of a businesss liquor license.

HB 4033, proposed by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, deletes the need for a joint committee of the construction industry and the electrical contractors licensing boards to meet at least twice a year. Plakon noted the joint committee hasnt met since 2008.

Its a pretty simple bill, you probably wont see it on Jimmy Kimmel Live or anything, Plakon said.

Neither bill is expected to impact the states general revenue.

I look forward to presenting many bills to this committee and I hope they all go just like this, said Rep. Horner, R-Kissimmee.

The bills out of the way, the subcommittee would sit through presentations from the Department of Revenue on creating one-stop registration and an overview of unemployment compensation.

This is the third week legislators have held committee and subcommittee meetings since Sept. 19. Three more committee weeks are planned: Oct. 31-Nov. 3; Nov. 14-17; Dec. 5-8.