Welcome to

The hallway on the capitol’s fourth floor was lined with state troopers as lawmakers and family entered the House Chamber to honor Jacksonville Senator Jim King. King died of pancreatic cancer at age 69. The ceremony was attended by Governor’s past and present, union presidents, lobbyists and candidates. Senate President Jeff Atwater says King was best known for his humor and his ability to find compromise.

“Jim encouraged the full and free expression of opinion, appreciated the richness of honest debate, and refused to preside with a heavy hand,” Atwater said. “His greatest satisfaction came from change he could affect in others. For Jim, it was less a matter of what could be written into law, than what could be inspired in people.”

King was an unabashed booster for Florida State University. His ashes will be interred on the FSU campus in the building named for him in the medical school.