Ken Pruitt
| Ken Pruitt | |
|---|---|
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| President of the Florida Senate | |
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In office November 2006 – November 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Lee |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Atwater |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 28th district |
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In office 2001 - 2009 |
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| Succeeded by | Joe Negron |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 24, 1957 Miami, Florida |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Aileen Kelly |
| Residence | Fort Pierce, Florida |
| Occupation | Business Development |
| Religion | Disciples of Christ |
Ken Pruitt was a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 28th District from 2000 to 2009. His district includes portions of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties. He was previously a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1990 through 2000.
On November 21, 2006, Ken Pruitt was chosen by the unanimous vote of his colleagues to serve a two-year term as President of the Florida Senate. He succeeded Tom Lee and preceded Jeff Atwater in this capacity. From 2006 to 2008, Pruitt served as the 78th President of the Florida Senate. His other prominent leadership roles have included committee chairmanships of the Senate Rules Committee (2004–2006), Senate Appropriations Committee (2002–2004) and House Appropriations Committee (1998–2000).
After the 1996 general election, with Republicans the majority party in the Florida House of Representatives, Rep. Pruitt was able to shepherd through the Bright Futures Scholarship Act (CS/CS/SB 858 – 1997) during the 1997 legislative session. The bill was responsible for creating the state’s popular merit based aid programs for college students known as Florida Bright Futures Scholarships. These lottery funded scholarships have helped more than 300,000 Florida students attend a post-secondary institution and Pruitt has remained an ardent supporter of the program throughout his political career.
In late 2003, Senator Ken Pruitt embarked on a statewide tour of all eleven state universities and all 28 community colleges in an effort to draw up support for higher education in Florida. The Brighter Futures Express Educational Tour traveled to the various state institutions of higher learning with the intention of reminding fellow lawmakers to “keep the promise” they had made to Floridians on programs like Florida Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid. Most notably from the tour was that Pruitt traveled from school to school in a used yellow school bus. The tour concluded on March 17, 2004 with a gathering on the steps of the historic state capitol. Over 3,000 students, teachers, and parents attended the political rally which was addressed by numerous speakers, including Senator Pruitt and Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap. The crowd was also treated to a performance by the Florida A&M University Marching 100.
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