Florida’s legislature comprises of 120 lawmakers in the lower house and 40 in the upper house, making a total of 160 legislators. The Washington House, on the other hand, is constituted of 98 lawmakers in the lower house and 49 in the upper house, making a total of 147. The two states also slightly differ in the length of their legislative bodies and the term limit for which a legislature can serve. In both states at the upper houses, the elected lawmakers have a term lasting two years; however, there is a limit of 4 terms in which one can serve in the upper legislative arm in Florida whereas such a limit does not exist in Washington. When it comes to the lower house, lawmakers in Florida have terms lasting either 2 or 4 years and there is
…show more content…
The Florida’s legislature has a central role in the budgeting process since it has the final power in adopting a budget. The budget preparation starts in July of the year before the commencement of a new fiscal year, with the governor sending budget instructions to the state agencies. The agencies, in response, send their budget requests in October, to the governor, before budget hearings with the state agencies are held in September. Public hearings follow in September and January and in February the governor presents the proposed budget to the legislature. Following debates, the legislature adopts the budget in April or May through a simple majority vote. The budget becomes effective in July at the beginning of each fiscal year. As per the Florida Constitution, the governor must serve the legislature with a balanced budget and the legislature must adopt a balanced budget (The Florida …show more content…
A recent study placed Florida among the leading states in transparency of state spending while Washington was rated in the second range category as far as online spending transparency was concerned (U.S. Public Interest Research Group). The ethics for the two states regarding dual employment and income disclosure for lawmakers differ in the two states with Florirda not allowing their legislators to hold dual employment while Washington allows for the same. On the issue of financial disclosure, both states requires that their legislators must disclose their financial interests. This can be viewed as a move to discourage
The Florida’s legislature has a central role in the budgeting process since it has the final power in adopting a budget. The budget preparation starts in July of the year before the commencement of a new fiscal year, with the governor sending budget instructions to the state agencies. The agencies, in response, send their budget requests in October, to the governor, before budget hearings with the state agencies are held in September. Public hearings follow in September and January and in February the governor presents the proposed budget to the legislature. Following debates, the legislature adopts the budget in April or May through a simple majority vote. The budget becomes effective in July at the beginning of each fiscal year. As per the Florida Constitution, the governor must serve the legislature with a balanced budget and the legislature must adopt a balanced budget (The Florida …show more content…
A recent study placed Florida among the leading states in transparency of state spending while Washington was rated in the second range category as far as online spending transparency was concerned (U.S. Public Interest Research Group). The ethics for the two states regarding dual employment and income disclosure for lawmakers differ in the two states with Florirda not allowing their legislators to hold dual employment while Washington allows for the same. On the issue of financial disclosure, both states requires that their legislators must disclose their financial interests. This can be viewed as a move to discourage