Republican Gov. Charlie Crist said this morning he hopes to announce a special session dedicated to passenger rail issues by Thanksgiving. He described his ongoing negotiations with Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, and House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, over a potential December session as “hopefully optimistic.”

There’s a list of issues being hammered out, but at the top is finding money for South Florida’s cash-strapped Tri-Rail. Republicans are targeting a $2 fee on rental cars as the source and discussing whether to let county commissions approve the charge or require a referendum.

“That’s sort of one of the issues we’re dealing with,” Crist said.

Florida’s Republican leaders believe they need to settle funding issues for Tri-Rail and a host of insurance and money issues for a proposed Central Florida line known as SunRail before the state has any chance at securing $2.5 billion in federal stimulus money for an Orlando-Tampa bullet train.

“That – in terms of job creation, in terms of alternative transportation arteries for our fellow Floridians — is incredibly important,” Crist said of the stimulus money. “And I would really hate to see that opportunity lost.”

Some background on the issue here.

WEST PALM BEACH — U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, meeting this morning with local elected officials, said the state legislature must act quickly to pledge money for Tri-Rail and other high-speed rail projects or lose out on as much as $2.5 billion in federal stimulus money.

He urged state lawmakers to approve money for the rail projects in a special session in December because federal grants will be announced in January.

“If they (state legislators) put it to next spring, that’s too late,” said Nelson, who offered to make phone calls to lawmakers to push for quick action.

“You’re going to have to show that you support Tri-Rail and commuter rail,” Nelson told the group, which includes some state legislators, Palm Beach County commissioners and city officials at West Palm Beach City Hall.

State Sen. Paula Dockery will enter the race for governor tomorrow, ending months of speculation about whether Attorney General Bill McCollum will face a GOP primary opponent.

Dockery confirmed that she will file papers to enter the race tomorrow.

The Lakeland Republican earned an ardent following in the spring when she led a winning crusade against a proposed Central Florida commuter rail line backed by prominent GOP leaders including Gov. Charlie Crist.

Dockery raised a ruckus about a deal in which the state would have paid transportation behemoth CSX Inc. more than $600 million for 61 miles of track for the SunRail project. Lawmakers ultimately refused to pass it even after a last-ditch effort to link it to the floundering Tri-Rail that was $80 million in the red last year.

Florida’s lagging economy that forced the legislature to trim more than $5 billion from the state budget over two years bolstered Dockery’s opposition to the project.

Dockery also criticized a component of the deal that makes the state liable for any accidents on the rail line even if they are caused by CSX, which would still be allowed to run freight cars on the commuter line.

Perhaps not coincidentally, SunRail supporter McCollum, who hails from the Orlando area, today ordered Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos to appear before the Cabinet on Nov. 17 to give an update on the liability issue.

“I strongly support legislation to implement a SunRail agreement,” McCollum wrote.

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, has put an interactive map highlighting federal stimulus projects on his congressional homepage as a way for citizens to track spending in Klein’s Palm Beach-Broward District 22.

Klein said he wants constituents who click on specific projects to tell him if they aren’t doing what they are supposed to do.

“We want to make sure that our local people…can see what’s going on in their local community and can be part of the eyes and ears to make sure this money is being spent correctly,” Klein said today in an appearance at the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail station, where he touted a $13.6 million federal expenditure to buy four new locomotives and make other transit improvements.

Said Klein, who voted for the $787 billion stimulus bill: “If the money’s doing its job and creating jobs and creating benefit in our community, I’m all for it. And if we find that it’s not being spent, or its being spent on anything other than creating jobs, we need to cancel it, pull it back and find a better way to support our local community.”

Sen. Paula Dockery’s taking her commuter rail clout on board Tri-Rail next week to learn more about the beleaguered South Florida commuter train.

Dockery, a Lakeland Republican, carved out a niche in train transportation by single-handedly derailing the controversial Central Florida commuter system during the legislative session that ended in May.

Dockery objected to the state paying more than $400 million to transportation behemoth CSX Inc. for track and rail yard improvements. Lawmakers failed to approve the deal despite the support of Gov. Charlie Crist, House Speaker-to-be Dean Cannon and other GOP leaders.

More than 1,000 Tri-Rail riders have e-mailed Dockery in the past three months objecting to reductions in service caused by the legislature’s failure to come up with the cash to keep the system on course, she said in a press release.

On top of that, the state may have to give more than $250 million back to the feds if Tri-Rail officials cut back on service as planned.

Dockery, who is mulling a run for governor, will ride the rails from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale on Monday.

Democratic Sens. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres and Nan Rich of Weston will join Dockery for part of the ride.