GrayRobinson President and CEO Dean Cannon in Law360’s "Florida Legislation To Watch In 2021"

Tallahassee, Fla. – January 3, 2021 –  GrayRobinson President and CEO Dean Cannon, who is also the chair of the firm’s government affairs practice, shares his insights in Law360’s "Florida Legislation To Watch In 2021." The article showcases lawyers and government specialists’ predictions on how "COVID-19 will have significant impact on the state’s legislative outlook for 2021, thrusting public health needs and economic concerns to the forefront and shaping how lawmakers will perform their duties." 

In terms of governing in a pandemic, Cannon, who served as Speaker of the Florida House from 2010 to 2012, said "It’s a great sign to me that leaders in both chambers are saying, ‘Hey, OK, we have strong majorities, but let’s do things that cross party lines.  I think that that bodes well for the session.  The picture may or may not be any better, but they’ll have more data to make decisions on, and that typically produces better results in the long term."

As for balancing the state’s budget, Law360 points to Cannon’s term as House Speaker, which started in the depths of the Great Recession, as a comparison.  Cannon described the current downturn as a "shock recession" and says "If the legislative leadership is thoughtful, and I think they will be, they’ll produce a budget that will enable Florida to bounce back more quickly from the recession once things start picking back up again."

Cannon wraps up the article with his perspective on the issues beyond COVID-19.