Collection description: This collection consists of more than 150 video oral histories with Florida legislators, with a focus on those who served in key leadership roles. The oral history program was established by the Florida legislature in order to provide a vehicle for institutional memory, particularly once term limits were enacted for legislators; the primary intended audience is new legislators who seek to better understand the work-place culture of the Florida legislature. Interviews are conducted by a contracted vendor that employs former journalists who covered the legislators.
Regulatory significance: This collection should prove valuable to researchers interested in how legislative culture and the legislative process affects regulatory policy at the state level. Unlike some heavily biography oriented oral histories of legislators, these interviews provide insight into the goals of legislators, the culture of the Florida legislature, and the legislative learning process. Interviewees discuss their legislative experiences going back to the 1950s. The repository does not have abstracts or subject listings for its individual oral histories, but interested researchers should contact the repository with specific questions.
Repository: Florida Legislative Research Center
Interview dates: 1999 – present
Digital access: No online availability. Website only contains listing of interviewees.
Physical access: Collection is accessible by appointment at the Florida Legislative Research Center & Museum at the Historic Capitol, 400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL. To set up appointments, call (850) 487-1902.
