The House approved 20 bills Wednesday. All the bills, except, SB 634 regarding spaceports, will require Senate approval. All but one bill, HB 4003, eliminating the Urban Infill and Redevelopment Assistance Grant Program, were unanimous or near unanimous approvals. HB 4003, which several Democrats argued to continue funding, was approved mostly along party lines. The House approved the following bills Wednesday:

Florida auto insurance costs 56 percent more than the average in other states, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Why? Citing a growing wave of staged and phantom accidents around the state, Steve Casey, executive director of the Florida Sheriffs Association, said, PIP fraud has become an organized crime."

The Westboro Baptist Church, and anyone else who for some reason desires to protest a military funeral, would have to stand at least 500 feet away under a bill that received unanimous support Wednesday from the House Judiciary Committee. HB 31 by Rep. Pat Rooney, R-West Palm Beach, expands on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed a 100-foot distance between military protesters and those involved with a military funeral.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America applauded Florida lawmakers for advancing a PIP reform bill Wednesday. Florida is the No. 1 state in the nation for staged accidents, which has resulted in an unnecessary, nearly $1 billion fraud tax on consumers over the last three years," the PCIAA said in a statement.

With almost every poll showing he is in a tight battle with Newt Gingrich to win the Florida primary on Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney unveiled the support of a large number of Miami-Dade leaders on Wednesday. I am proud to have the support of these respected leaders, Romney said in a statement. Like me, these leaders believe that our president has failed to lead, and stand ready to join our effort to restore prosperity to America, so the hard-working people and families in every corner of our nation can find jobs and move forward.

A poll of likely primary voters released by Quinnipiac University on Wednesday morning finds that former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has caught Republican presidential primary rival former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts in Florida. "Florida is essentially a dead heat and a two-man race between Gov. Mitt Romney and Speaker Newt Gingrich entering the last week of the campaign," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement on Wednesday.

Ozzie deFaria, seeking to unseat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fort Lauderdale, said Wednesday that his campaign will report more than $210,000 in fourth-quarter receipts. The Republican businessman, who entered the 20th Congressional District primary in October, donated $60,000 to his campaign and made an additional loan of $100,000.

Gov. Rick Scott appointed Belinda Keiser, the vice chancellor of Keiser University, to the board of directors of Enterprise Florida Inc., the public-private partnership devoted to statewide economic development. According to a release from the governor's office: "Keiser, 53, of Parkland, has been the vice chancellor of Keiser University for over 20 years.

A symbolic resolution that recognizes Israel won unanimous bipartisan support from the House Federal Affairs Subcommittee on Tuesday.

If you thought you heard it all before, you're right. This video shows President Obama delivering almost the exact same lines this year as he did in his prior State of the Union addresses. The only discernible difference from the 2010 model is that Nancy Pelosi is no longer sitting behind the president. Check it out here.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., led a blistering GOP counterattack against President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. The president is on the verge of committing economic malpractice," Rubio said after the president's address to a joint session of Congress. How does raising taxes create jobs? How does raising my bosss taxes help me keep my job? Why is he advocating policies that will punish people that are investing in American businesses that are creating middle class jobs?" Rubio asked. See full story upcoming in Sunshine State News.

A call by GOP presidential candidates for deeper U.S. involvement in the Mideast elicited a light rebuke from a Florida Muslim leader. "It is clear that the Republicans saved their best candidates to run in 2016 when they do not have to run against an incumbent," said Hassan Shibly, director of the Florida Council on American-Islamic Relations. On Monday night, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich each criticized Iran's nuclear program.

With Florida holding a crucial primary in the Republican presidential race next Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott is not taking sides -- but he did praise former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romneys record in the private sector when he appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox News on Tuesday. Asked about Romney releasing his tax reports on Tuesday, Scott offered the presidential hopeful some kind words -- and made a pitch for companies to open shop in the Sunshine State.

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Tampa, Hillsborough County and the Capitol on Wednesday in honor of U.S. Army Specialist Chrstophe J. Marquis, who died from wounds received in Afghanistan. Marquis, 40, a member of 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was from Tampa.

The 4th District American Advertising Federation, with legislative support, launched a public service campaign Tuesday to fund research aimed at curing Alzheimers disease. The human statistic and financial price tag are staggering and quite a bit frightening, said Nairn B. Gillet, the federations district governor, during a media conference in the Capitol 4th floor rotunda.One in 40 Floridians suffers from Alzheimers.