CSX gets a favorable draw in Senate committee assignments

click title for story link State Senate President Jeff Atwater named two Central Florida lawmakers who are stong backers of the region's commuter rail dreams to key committee chairmanships Wednesday. Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, was tapped to lead the Senate Transportation Committee and Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, was chosen to lead the Senate Judiciary Committee. Last spring, you might recall, the complex insurance liability agreement CSX Corp. wanted before signing off on Central Florida's $1 billion-plus commuter rail deal got stalled on the tracks when then-Judiciary Chairman Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, demanded the bill go through his committee since it dealt with granting state-sponsored immunity from lawsuits to private companies working on the tracks. Now it is a whole lot more likely to get a hearing in the Senate. In fact, seven of the nine senators appointed Wednesday to the Transportation panel that would also likely hear the bill are from Central Florida: Gardiner; Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando; Constantine; Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera; Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis; Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic; and -- drum roll -- Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, the fiercest critic of the CSX deal last spring.