Crist renews call for special session on SunRail project

Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday renewed his call for a special legislative session next month to consider the SunRail commuter rail project in Central Florida, which he said would produce a lot of jobs.

"We're working on it," said Crist, a big SunRail booster. "I would like it to be next month. I think it's important to be able to do it sooner rather than later."

But House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, is not yet on board, and he's challenging Senate President Jeff Atwater to prove that there are 21 votes in the Senate to pass SunRail.

"The House has twice supported and voted for SunRail," Cretul spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin said via e-mail. "To justify a special session, the speaker would need to see specifics of the Senate's proposal and he would need the specific, clear assurance that the Senate has the votes to approve the proposal during a December special session." (SunRail failed on a 23-16 vote in the Senate in the spring session).

Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau