TALLAHASSEE -- Senate President Jeff Atwater's call for a special legislative session on transportation is getting the cold shoulder from his counterpart, House Speaker Larry Cretul.

Atwater wants a special session in December so the Legislature can send a strong signal to the federal government that Florida is interested in federal stimulus money for rail projects, including an Orlando-area commuter rail and money for South Florida's Tri-Rail system.

Cretul's spokeswoman, Jill Chamberlin, says the speaker won't have any immediate public statement on the need for a session in December.

``He is looking at the issue very methodically,'' Chamberlin said. `` He hasn't made up his mind.''

Abbreviated special legislative sessions have been known to collapse in failure if the Legislature's presiding officers don't have an ironclad deal in advance.

One of the projects targeted is the so-called SunRail commuter rail in Central Florida, which would run along a 61-mile stretch of CSX Transportation freight tracks. The project passed the House but died in the Senate last spring, and Cretul might be looking for assurances that the Senate has the votes to pass it this time.

The Senate vote in 2009 was 23-16 against SunRail. Atwater's spokeswoman, Jaryn Emhof, said on Tuesday: ``I think some things have changed over the summer,'' adding that Atwater wants to speak with senators before pushing ahead with the need for a special session.

Another reason the House may be reluctant to agree to a special session is the still-unresolved issue of a gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Chamberlin said it was ``unrealistic'' that the House would agree to a gambling deal.

Cretul, an Ocala Republican who is pondering a run for Congress in 2010, was initially reluctant to accept federal stimulus money to prop up the state budget and has repeatedly issued warnings about the fiscal impact on the state after the stimulus money ``flameout'' in three years.

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