Florida Legislative Practice Course

During this fall semester, the law school and Associate Dean Debra Henley offered for the sixth time a skills-training course that teaches students the fundamentals of the legislative process relating to bill drafting, analysis, the committee and amendatory processes, advocacy, and the passage of legislation. Students enrolled in Florida Legislative Practice: From Bill Drafting to the Governor’s Desk participate in mock committee hearings, assuming the roles of committee members and lobbyists. Current and former state legislators serve alongside the students as committee members, providing insightful questions and debate, as well as their observations on the process. “The committee meetings were such a treat to be a part of,” said 2L Troy Osorio, who is enrolled in the class this semester. “This course has been one of my favorite and most memorable classes at FSU Law.”

The fall 2021 semester’s mock committee hearings, which recently concluded, featured the following guests who served as “senators:” Representative Dan Daley, Senator Gary Farmer, FSU Chief Legislative Affairs Officer and Former Representative Clay Ingram, Former Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp, Representative Andrew Learned, Representative Amber Mariano, Representative Holly Raschein, and Tallahassee City Commissioner and Former Representative Curtis Richardson. Chief of Staff to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis James Uthmeier wrapped up the class for the semester earlier this week with a discussion about the process for establishing legislative priorities, the role of the governor in the legislative process, considerations made on legislation presented to the governor, and the budget.

Published on November 12, 2021