Pressure is mounting on Florida Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session to end the Legislature’s impasse on Medicaid expansion.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and the 14 Democratic members of the Florida Senate sent separate letters Monday making the request, following House Democratic leader Perry Thurston’s request for one Friday.
Scott isn’t likely to oblige them if he doesn’t think Republican lawmakers are ready to deal.
At stake is $51 billion in federal funding to provide insurance coverage to 1 million low-income Floridians. House Republicans blocked that from happening during the regular session, which ended Friday.
Neither Scott nor Senate President Don Gaetz have said they would support reconvening the Legislature to address the issue.
House Speaker Will Weatherford was cool to the idea when the Times/Herald spoke to him on Monday.
“I don’t know what it would achieve,” Weatherford said. “Unless there was an agreement of what the session would do, calling one doesn’t make sense. We would have to have some agreement on policy, other than drawing down on federal funds.”
Weatherford would not say what type of alternative plan he thinks would make a special session a good idea.
Click here for the full story in the Tampa Bay Times
