Senate gets set to vote on rail
by Dara Kam | December 8th, 2009The Florida Senate is poised to take a final vote on a rail bill approved by the House yesterday after less than two hours of debate.
The measure faced fierce opposition in the Senate but a last-minute deal cut by the AFL-CIO, the Department of Transportation and Tri-Rail cleared the way for its passage.
Leaders of the union, which has 500,000 members, had strenuously objected to the measure throughout the special session because, they said, it created a policy that would have had a negative impact on the state’s 7,000 railroad workers.
But the deal preserved up to 184 jobs for employees of CSX Inc. who work on Tri-Rail and what will become SunRail.
The deal combined with up to $15 million included in the measure for Tri-Rail is likely to sway some Democrats who had planned to vote against the measure.
Lawmakers had given themselves until Friday to finish up the special rail session.
The Senate did not make any changes to the House bill so once it passes it will go directly to Gov. Charlie Crist, a proponent of the proposal who will sign it into law.
Tags: Charlie Crist, CSX, Florida Senate, special session, SunRail, Tri-Rail
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December 8th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
The overlooked story this week is Carey Baker switched sides for a reason. He is worried about his association with special interest donors.