Columbia County 2025 Legislative Delegation Meeting: Record Setting Attendance & Meaningful Conversation
January 11, 2025 7:45 pm | 4 minute read
Senator
Jennifer Bradley and Representative Chuck Brannan.
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Wednesday’s Columbia County Legislative Delegation meeting (January 8, 2025) set a record for attendance. Senator Jennifer Bradley, Representative Chuck Brannan, College President Larry Barrett, and most others were surprised by the standing-room-only attendance as the meeting got underway in the Florida Gateway College board room.
It was a packed house at Wednesday's Legislative
Delegation meeting.
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Delegation Chairperson Brannan called the meeting to order. After the invocation and pledge, he said, “We always start with the announcement that this year, the 2025 legislative session will begin on March 4 of 2025, and with that, I will turn it over to the Senator for any remarks and introduction.”
Senator Bradley wished everyone a good morning and explained that while the official start of the legislative session is March 4, “We actually return to Tallahassee next week for our second committee week, and we will have two committee weeks in January, three in February, and then the session will start in March.”
Senator Bradley explains the purpose of the Legislative
Delegation meeting as Representative Brannan reviews the
morning's agenda.
Senator Bradley emphasized the importance of the Legislative Delegation meeting and active engagement from local communities: “We certainly have a dialog all year, but this is really the start of this legislative session’s dialog. We hear from everybody today; we hope to continue to hear from you during session as issues come up. If bills come up that are of concern or that you care about, please reach out to our office. If you hear of a bill moving that you're very upset about or you very much want to pass, please reach out to our office. We care about that. These delegation meetings are not just something that are perfunctory, that we have to do every year.”
Senator Bradley continued, “We get bill ideas from these sessions that we have throughout the district.”
Senator Bradley represents a large area. In addition to Columbia County, she represents Clay, Baker, Bradford, Union, Gilchrist, and the northern half of Alachua County. She said, “A lot of folks are dealing with similar issues, so what we hear here is often echoed in some of those other counties. So please continue the dialog.”
The Bradley-Brannon ‘Legislative Team’
Senator Bradley and Representative Brannon are tight. Senator Bradley put it this way, “I also have the – the real pleasure of working with Representative Brannon. Not every Delegation, I can assure you, through the state of Florida, has such a great working relationship."
Rural Renaissance: Not unnoticed by the Delegation
The new Senate President, Ben Albritton, hails from Wauchula, a small rural city in Hardee County. Senator Albritton knows what rural issues and rural poverty look like. Wauchula is a Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern (now labeled a RAO).
Hardee County is a rural South-Central Florida County that was a RACEC community until the legislators in Tallahassee, led by the lobbying group the Florida League of Cities, reclassified it as a Rural Area of Opportunity (RAO). RACEC stands for Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern.
A RACEC community is an under-educated, under-employed, low-household-income community with depressed economic activity, a lack of business competitiveness, and persistent poverty.
Senator Bradly commented on Senate President Albritton, “If you heard any of his opening remarks to the Senate Chamber, he pledged a rural renaissance. He is keenly aware of issues that rural Florida faces, and so I look forward to a really good few years under his leadership in the Senate – focused on rural issues.”
Senator Bradley concluded, “Our doors are always open. Great to be here. Please call. And great to be here to hear from everybody.”
Rep. Brannan thanks Sen. Bradley for her remarks and
explains his chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee.
Representative Brannan began, "Thank you for those remarks, Senator. I echo that. We have a great working relationship."
Representative Brannan explained that he represents the same counties as Senator Bradley, except for Clay and Gilchrist.
Representative Brannan said (abridged), “This year, I chair the main, overarching judiciary committee in the state. [House Judiciary Committee]. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I’m the first non-lawyer to chair that committee in about a decade and a half. So, we're off to the races with that.”
Public Officials
They came to the microphone one by one, beginning with the Clerk of the Court, Jay Swisher. Some asked for money, and some just said "hello," recognizing that everyone feels lucky to have the legislative delegation that they have.
The Public
The public brought up topics from veteran’s issues to the environment.
The
most talked about topic was the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority, an independent special taxing district that
has outlived its usefulness.
Barbara Lemley addresses the issue of the Lake Shore
Hospital Authority.
Barbara Lemley, a long-time critic of the Authority and the Governor's appointed board, explained the recent public referendum.
“In 2019, during a legislative delegation hearing, Senator Rob Bradley suggested County voters should take a vote to get their thoughts on the continuation of the Authority… In 2024, the county commissioners finally allowed the voters to vote on a non-binding referendum to keep or abolish the Authority. Two-thirds of voters voted to abolish the Authority.”
Ms. Lemley continued, “Please consider legislation that deposits the cash assets of the Lake Shore Hospital in an Indigent Care Trust Fund, which is used to fund indigent care exclusively.”
“Everyone thinks this is a good idea except the Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board, which continues to disregard the will of the people.”
Epilogue
After a little over two hours, the meeting concluded with Representative Brannon nominating Senator Bradley as next year's delegation chairperson.
Senator Bradley light-heartedly nominated Representative Brannan as the vice chair.
Senator Bradley thanked Florida Gateway College for hosting the meeting.