Tallahassee

The Florida Legislature is now in its third week of its 2007 session. Only six weeks remain to complete all the work on tax relief and other issues.

A few highlights from this week:

Phys Ed.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who is in excellent physical shape, is pushing for legislation requiring daily physical education classes for the state's elementary students. It would be mandatory starting July 1 in public and charter schools if the measure passes.

Property Taxes

The House of Representatives unveiled legislation aimed at providing tax relief for Floridians, soon the Senate proposal will follow. It is too early to speculate on the final outcome of this bill.

Cable Franchising

House Bill 529 - Regulation of Communications Media Technology Services was approved by the Policy and Budget Council. It transfers the authority to grant cable franchises from local governments to the state. It means the elimination of future "rate rebalancing" - the practice of reducing long-distance rates but in turn increasing local phone rates.

Stem cells

The legislature is considering two bills on stem cell research and human cloning. One enjoys support from the pro-life community while the other doesn't. The debate centers around one bill that would force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research and another that advances the use of adult stem cells.

Energy

A Senate energy plan would require half of new electricity in Florida to be generated with renewable energies such as biomass, wind and solar by 2017. Florida currently generates less than 10 percent of its electricity using nuclear power and other renewable fuels, instead relying primarily on natural gas, coal and petroleum - all fossil fuels. n