Public Hearing Participation

To encourage and facilitate public participation in the redistricting process, the Senate and the House have scheduled public hearings at locations throughout Florida. Members of the Senate and House Redistricting Committees, as well as local delegation members, have been invited to attend. Each hearing is designed to encourage citizens in their local area to make presentation about how they believe they can best be represented.

The Senate and the House will alternate hosting the meetings. The order of events is as follows:

• Opening remarks: Welcome and brief instructions made by the legislative chairman.
  
  
• Legislative Presentation: Short presentation on legal and census information by legislative staff.
  
  
• Public Testimony: Individuals may address the committee by signing up at the public hearing. Sign-in tables will open prior to commencement. Presenters will be recognized in order and will be allowed to address the members for four minutes. Individuals may include written comments and backup material with their presentation and will be made available to committee members after the hearing. The hearings will be audio taped and subsequently transcribed by a court reporter. Transcripts and video or audio files will be posted on this site after each public hearing. In order to maximize the time for public testimony, legislators will not take questions or respond to testimony during the hearing.

The public is also invited to email comments and plan submissions directly to the Senate Redistricting Committee, or to the House Redistricting Committee.

Copies of FREDS 2000, the software that legislators will use to model and evaluate districts, will be provided to public libraries and university libraries for public use, and may also be purchased for $20 online through this site.

Those who are not able to attend a public hearing are encouraged to submit written testimony and plans to the Florida Senate via email or by mail to:

Senate Reapportionment Committee
Attention: Senate Plans
103 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100