The countdown to the 2014 legislative session is underway, with lawmakers returning to the Capitol this week for four days of committee meetings. Some of the meetings will focus on high-profile topics such as problems in the child-welfare system and questions about whether the state is properly handling sexual predators.On Monday lawmakers will take up a gambling study and residency requirements for elected officials, both expected to be controversial in the upcoming session.
On Tuesday – after a newspaper series showed the state has failed to stop sex offenders from committing repeated attacks – two Senate committees will hold a joint meeting to discuss tighter restrictions.
A House panel will hear presentations about child safety from the Department of Children and Families, which has faced heavy scrutiny in recent months due to the deaths of children who had previously come to the agency's attention.
And House and Senate panels will discuss the state's prescription-drug database, amid questions about the release of names and prescription histories of more than 3000 Floridians.