TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida lawmakers took their oaths of office, elected new leaders, remembered a fallen colleague and began dealing with a faltering economy and deepening state budget deficit during a one-day postelection reorganization session Tuesday.

There was no suspense over the leadership elections as the Senate presidency and House speakership traditionally are clinched at least a year and often several years in advance. Republicans again will lead both chambers for the next two years after the GOP maintained solid majorities on Election Day.

Rep. Ray Sansom of Destin was voted speaker of the House. Sen. Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach got the nod as Senate president.

Atwater announced his first act as president will be to appoint a select bipartisan committee of senators to help find solutions for the state's economic and financial problems.

"Floridians are hurting," Atwater said. "They have seen secure jobs disappear, and the stock market collapse has hit the most vulnerable the hardest. ... This is a crisis and we will treat it as such."

Atwater said he expects the panel to consult business, academic and economic experts and make its first recommendations before the Legislature convenes in March for its 2009 regular session.

The House passed a resolution honoring Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, who was elected two weeks ago to succeed her husband. Rep. Stan Mayfield died in September of esophageal cancer. The House later remembered him at a memorial service.

Sansom didn't match Atwater's fast action on the financial front, but he warned members they'll be facing some of the most difficult challenges in Florida's history.

"We have an economy that has slowed down and needs to be awakened," Sansom said. "We have an over-regulated work force. We have citizens that seem to be exhausted with government."

Gov. Charlie Crest and Sansom so far have resisted suggestions from some, including Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, to call a special session to deal with the budget deficit. Atwater also declined to make a commitment but said he thought a special session is likely.

Crist and the Legislative Budget Commission already have tapped $672 million from the budget's reserve fund -- half the total -- to offset some of the deficit, last estimated at about $1.3 billion.

The deficit is expected to increase -- Sansom has estimated it may grow to $2 billion -- when state economists meet Friday to issue a new general revenue estimate.

Crist also ordered a 4 percent spending holdback, and the budget permits the state to borrow up to $1 billion from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund. It invests money from Florida's tobacco settlement for future use on health programs for children and the elderly.

Sansom has said he hopes those steps will be sufficient to prevent the budget year from ending June 30 with a deficit, which is prohibited by the Florida Constitution.

Sink, though, has questioned the feasibility of using the tobacco money because it's invested largely in long-term securities that have dropped sharply in value with the stock market decline. Crist, Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum serve as the State Board of Administration, which oversees those investments.

They'll have a chance at their meeting Thursday to discuss the Chiles fund issue with their executive director, Ash Williams.

"We need to be patient, we need to be calm," said House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach. "There's a lot of people who want to rush into a special session without solutions. ... Let's see how Thursday and Friday unfold."

Atwater also wants to wait until the new revenue estimate is out, but he expects it will lead to the conclusion that it'll take a special session to make budget cuts or take other action to wipe out the deficit.

"I think that it won't take a rocket scientist to read the tea leaves," Atwater said. "I think the information on Friday is going to be quite severe."

Reorganization sessions are held every two years two weeks after the general election. This year, Republicans lost one seat in the House but still have a 76-44 advantage. There was no change in the GOP's 26-14 Senate majority.

In the House, 35 new representatives were sworn in - 21 Republicans and 14 Democrats. Seven newcomers joined the Senate - five Republicans and two Democrats.

Representatives also elected Rep. Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, as speaker pro tempore, second in command to Sansom. The Senate chose Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, as president pro tempore.