Millions of dollars poured into Florida's political system during the first three months of 2016, with huge chunks coming from business groups and industries such as utilities and insurers.

But much of the money didn't go directly to candidates or to the state Republican or Democratic parties. Instead, it landed in the accounts of political committees --- often known by motherhood-and-apple-pie names --- that will play a major role this year as voters elect all 160 members of the Legislature and decide the fate of high-profile ballot initiatives.

As Florida courts have struggled in recent years with a flood of foreclosure cases, retired judges have played a key role in reducing backlogs.

But a pair of Pinellas County lawyers this week filed a petition in the Florida Supreme Court arguing that the heavy reliance on retired --- or, as they are known, "senior" --- judges violates the state Constitution. The document asks the Supreme Court to curb the practice in the circuit that includes Pinellas and Pasco counties and, possibly, to review the use of senior judges statewide.

Florida Supreme Court justices Wednesday tried to sift through arguments about the constitutionality of the state's workers-compensation insurance system --- and whether they should decide the issue.

Readying for oral arguments in June, attorneys for the state and Second Amendment groups are urging a full federal appeals court to uphold a 2011 Florida law that would restrict doctors from asking questions and recording information about patients' gun ownership.

Broward County and major hospital systems in Jacksonville and Miami are challenging the Florida Department of Health about a proposed change in the way trauma centers are divvied up among various parts of the state.

Broward, UF Health Jacksonville and the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, which operates the Jackson Health System, filed challenges Friday and Monday in the state Division of Administrative Hearings. They argue that the Department of Health overstepped its legal authority in proposing a new rule for the state trauma system.

It should be no surprise presidential candidate Marco Rubio spent the final days of Florida's Republican primary campaign visiting places like Melbourne and The Villages. Or that former President Bill Clinton was campaigning for his wife, Democrat Hillary Clinton, in places like Tallahassee.

After all, a big part of winning primaries involves turning out the base.

Voter registration for the presidential primaries closed last month. And here are seven party takeaways from numbers compiled by the state Division of Elections:

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump hold hefty leads as next week's presidential primaries loom in Florida --- a potentially ominous sign for home-state GOP candidate Marco Rubio, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Pointing to a high rate of new HIV cases in South Florida, the House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would create a pilot needle-exchange program in Miami-Dade County.

The 95-20 vote came after repeated attempts in recent years to approve such a program, which supporters say would help prevent the spread of infectious diseases among intravenous drug users. Senators voted 37-2 last week to approve the bill (SB 242), and it is now ready to go to Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida's 60-day legislative session is halfway done.

Most of the major issues remain unresolved after weeks of lawmakers debating bills in committees. But that's not unusual --- lawmakers typically put off the big stuff until the end.

In the days leading up to the Jan. 12 start of the session, The News Service of Florida offered 10 issues to watch this year. Here is an update about what has --- or hasn't --- happened with those issues.

In the latest twist in a nearly two-year struggle to offer limited types of medical-marijuana in Florida, three nurseries filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to at least temporarily block competitors from starting to produce the cannabis.