click to enlarge

Yesterday began the first of the week long special session in Tallahassee, where the legislature will try to hammer out a deal to find money to maintain the Tri-Rail commuter system in South Florida, as well as a third effort to invest hundreds of millions to create SunRail in central Florida.

The reason for the urgency now is the belief by lawmakers that it's critical to get funding for those systems passed now, to make Florida's bid to receive more than $2.5 billion in federal funds for high speed rail a reality when that money is doled out in the next few months.

In a brief press conference after the various sessions in the House and Senate, Governor Charlie Crist said that "voting against this would  be catastrophic, indefensible."  The Governor sloughed off complaints by organized labor about how the rail prospects in front of the legislature could endanger over 100 jobs.  Crist said "we're all concerned about jobs."  And he invoked 14,000 jobs that were possible if high speed rail were to come to Florida.

Via the Florida Channel, CL yesterday watched extensive portions of debate in the House Economic Development  and Community Affairs Policy Council, where the committee heard about the merits of rail, pro and con.  Among those in the latter category was Ed Turanchik, President of ConnectUs, the local group vying to bring high speed rail to the Sunshine State, calling it "the Tim Tebow of transportation."

Turanchik quoted Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in saying that having commuter rail in Florida was critical to getting the feds to look favorably upon Florida when assessing the booty that will be distributed come later this winter.

And in terms of the opposition posed by labor on the current deal, the former Hillsborough County Commissioner said that the federal funds are covered by Davis/Bacon, the federal law that dictates that prevailing wage rates be paid on federally funded or assisted construction projects.

Turanchik said, "These are federal stimulus dollars.  Buy American is involved.  As long as we're going down this route, we're going to use state dollars.  Our opinion is that (high speed rail) will create jobs, that they will have a fair and equal opportunity to get those jobs....and they are more likely to be unionized jobs."

Other Tampa Bay area legislators also spoke with enthusiasm about passing the bills that will come before them in the next week. Ed Hooper, Republican State Representative from Clearwater, said "this is our one opportunity."  He referred to U.S. 19 in Pinellas County, saying 20 years ago he heard it was too expensive to fix.  "It's always too expensive, that's no reason to stop," he asserted.

Plant City's Rich Glorioso's called rail "an economic development tool."  He told his colleagues and those in the audience, "go to Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, it has been a huge economic generator....it's a good plan, let's move on it."

But the drive by the Republican led legistlature to pass a rail measure may backfire due to the conservative groundswell against government spending.  The St. Pete Times reports this morning that there will be a "tea-party" type protest Monday in the Capitol, and it's already leading one GOP State Senator, Agriculture Commission candidate Carey Baker, to say he'll vote no on the legislation.