The Senate majority leader is expected to become Senate president in 2015. As majority leader, Bill Galvano works with committee chairs, schedules bills on the floor and controls the daily calendar during the legislative session. In a word, Galvano holds real power in Florida’s Capitol.
Galvano was the founder of the Tampa Bay Area Legislative Delegation in 2007, and was the lawmaker who spearheaded TBARTA, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. “That was a huge step in the right direction,” says his longtime consultant Anthony Pedicini. “Now you’ve got everybody thinking regionally, and that’s really what it’s going to take to solve the transportation problems in this area.”
In an interview with the Florida Channel in February, Galvano said that Medicaid expansion remained a “huge issue” with the Senate this year, referring that body’s 38-1 vote to support a form of that in 2013. Galvano said he wanted to “maximize opportunities for Floridians to get health care” in the upcoming session.
As chair of the Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review, Galvano negotiated a 2010 agreement with the tribe that will place at least $1 billion into state coffers over the course of the five-year deal, and remains the lead negotiator for the Senate compact this year.
Galvano’s Senate District encompasses not only Manatee County but also includes portions of Hillsborough, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Glades and Charlotte counties.
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For a complete explanation of how this list was created and who comprised the panel that assembled it, please read here.