Associated Press Day to kick off in Capitol

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

AtĀ 9 a.m. Wednesday, dozens of journalists with the Capital Press Corps and from around the state will converge on the Capitolā€™s 22nd floor for the annual Associated Press legislative planning session.

Itā€™s early this year because the 2016 Legislative Session also is early, startingĀ Jan. 12Ā and not in March as usual.

Years ago, actual ā€œplanningā€ of the APā€™s coverage for the legislative session may have taken place at the event, but not so much anymore.

Nowadays itā€™s an opportunity for various state officials and political candidates to get face time with political reporters, editorial writers and broadcast newsers from near and far for a little ā€œearned media.ā€

Gov.Ā Rick ScottĀ is scheduled to appear first among a slew of invited guests. He usually uses the opportunity to release his recommended state budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Also on the invitee list are Senate PresidentĀ Andy GardinerĀ and House SpeakerĀ Steve Crisafulli. Weā€™ll soon seeĀ whether, after last sessionā€™s acrimonious conclusion, theyā€™ll do a joint appearance as they did at the last AP get-together.

Also invited are Senate Democratic LeaderĀ Arthenia Joyner, House Democratic LeaderĀ Mark Pafford, and an assortment of U.S. Senate candidates, including Lt. Gov.Ā Carlos Lopez-CanteraĀ andĀ U.S. Reps.Ā Ron DeSantis,Ā David Jolly,Ā Alan GraysonĀ andĀ Patrick Murphy.

Before joining Florida Politics, journalist and attorney James Rosica was state government reporter for The Tampa Tribune. He attended journalism school in Washington, D.C., working at dailies and weekly papers in Philadelphia after graduation. Rosica joined the Tallahassee Democrat in 1997, later moving to the courts beat, where he reported on the 2000 presidential recount. In 2005, Rosica left journalism to attend law school in Philadelphia, afterwards working part time for a public-interest law firm. Returning to writing, he covered three legislative sessions in Tallahassee for The Associated Press, before joining the Tribuneā€™s re-opened Tallahassee bureau in 2013. He can be reached at [email protected].