FLORIDA — The Florida Legislature convened Tuesday for the first time since the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic, holding a largely ceremonial post-election organization session that was off limits to the general public amid an alarming rise in coronavirus cases.

​Despite the legislature's quorum Tuesday, Republicans dismissed Democrats' demands that the organizational session be expanded to include consideration of pandemic-related bills.

"There was no way to appropriately tackle that problem in a half of a day organizational session," said Sen. Ed Hooper (R-Clearwater).

Lawmakers and their guests, aides and journalists were required undergo on-site COVID-19 testing on Monday​. Seven state representatives either tested positive or had come in close contact with someone who recently tested positive and were formally excused from attending the session.

While signs directed attendees to wear masks in the Capitol Building, several Republican representatives flaunted the instruction and were seen maskless on the House floor and in the Capitol's busy fourth-floor rotunda.

After newly-elected lawmakers were ceremonially sworn in, the new presiding officers of the state House and Senate delivered their inaugural addresses. In each, the pandemic received high billing.

"I regret that circumstances have muted our celebration today. Our floor should be packed," House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) told his chamber. "I expect much of this session will be spent dealing with the fallout of the virus and modernizing our laws and our plans to ensure that we are prepared for future pandemics."

In the Senate, President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) warned of an increasingly foreboding fiscal environment that could dash lawmakers' best-laid spending plans. State economists have projected a $3.4 billion revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year and a $2 billion drop next year.

"We are going to tighten our belts," he said. "There will be things that we did in times of plenty that need to be eliminated in times of lean. We have less revenue, therefore we will have less government."

The legislature's minority Democrats, meanwhile, took advantage of their time in Tallahassee to call for immediate action on pandemic-related issues ranging from unemployment compensation reform to laying the groundwork for statewide distribution of looming coronavirus vaccines.

"Florida is one of seven states in the entire nation that took absolutely no legislative action during this crisis," said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando).

Legislative leaders have canceled committee hearings for the rest of the year due to the virus. Hearings will instead begin in January, followed by the start of the 2021 regular legislative session in March.