BRADENTON -- Manatee's legislative delegation collectively will wield plenty of clout during this year's legislative session, as some of its members have scored top committee positions.

The delegation includes state Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, chair of the Florida Senate's Education Appropriations Committee.

The committee will make spending decisions for K-12 schools and the state university system, Galvano said during a breakfast today at the Bradenton Country Club.

Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, will be handling an elections reform bill in the Florida House as chairman of a committee focusing on elections, ethics and campaign finance reform, he told the group.

And state Rep. Greg Steube, R-Bradenton, has a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, which handles the body's spending decisions; and has been appointed vice chair of a committee on healthcare innovation that will be dealing with Medicaid issues, Steube said.

The delegation members were featured as panelists today at the "Pancakes and Politics" breakfast sponsored by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce and Bright House Networks.