Ryan Nicol
Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book is returning to all but one of her 2023 Committee assignments in the upcoming 2024 Legislative Session.
Book will again serve on several important committees such as Appropriations, Judiciary and Rules. She also earned spots on multiple committees related to interests she has focused on in recent years, such as the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee and the Health Policy Committee.
Book got a major win this past Session, with the state exempting diaper purchases and many other items for new families from the sales tax. In 2022, lawmakers approved a one-year version of that plan. But this year, the Legislature made the exemption permanent, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing off.
The Senate Democratic Leader has also secured legislation ensuring Medicaid covers the cost of breast milk. Another measure limited the use of seclusion and restraint on students with disabilities. Book also runs Lauren’s Kids, a nonprofit for children who are sexual abuse survivors. Book is a survivor herself.
Book will also serve in this upcoming Session on the Education Postsecondary, the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. Session convenes on Jan. 9.
With Republicans holding a supermajority in the Senate following a stellar 2022 election cycle, Book nor any other Democrat will serve as a Chair on any committee.
Book only lost one Committee spot from the 2023 Session — the Appropriations Committee on Education. The 2024 version of that Committee is pared back, with only eight members as opposed to 13 in 2023. Sens. Bryan Ávila, Doug Broxson, Colleen Burton and Geraldine Thompson also got cut from this year’s body.
This is Book’s last consecutive Session in the Legislature, as she faces term limits heading into 2024. She’ll then hand the reins of Senate Democratic Leader to Sen. Jason Pizzo.
