The Senate has proposed, this time as a stand-alone bill, an effort to privatize correctional facilities located in 18 South Florida counties. Last September, Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford sided with Florida Police Benevolent Association attorneys who argued that lawmakers should have put the potential privatization of the prisons in South Florida into a separate bill, rather than as a proviso to the budget. Attorney General Pam Bondi has contested the ruling to the 1st District Court of Appeal.

Tom Gallagher, a three time gubernatorial candidate who once served as Floridas chief financial officer, has joined the Fort Lauderdale law firm of Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate PA, as a consultant. according to the Insurance Journal. The firm also has a Tallahassee office.

Republican presidential hopeful former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich pledged on Friday to fight for a free and democratic Cuba. Gingrich wrote to Frank Alonso of Miami, the president of Cuban Unity, and pointed to his record on Cuba.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the leading candidate in the Republican presidential primaries, hit Palm Beach County on Thursday and raised a haul --with sources telling Sunshine State News that he gathered up more than $1.5 million. Steven Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, hosted a fundraiser for Romney and the likes of Pepe Fanjul of Florida Crystals and Jerry Jordan in attendance.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who was only eight votes away from defeating former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts to win the Iowa caucus, unveiled his campaign team for Florida on Friday. The Florida primary will be held on Jan. 31, 10 days after South Carolina Republicans hold their own primary.

With little more than a week until South Carolina Republicans vote in their presidential primary, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts leads the pack of GOP hopefuls according to a poll from American Research Group released on Friday.

With state leaders looking to overhaul education, increasing emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math majors, the president of University of Florida, Bernie Machen, said the state could increase tuition for those in the STEM fields. Machen told members of the House Education Committee Friday morning that the additional money would help cover the additional faculty needed to provide more STEM courses without increasing the costs for students in other fields.

The state economists sitting as the Revenue Estimating Conference projected Thursday that next years revenues will not grow enough to overcome a $2 billion budget shortfall. House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statements on the projections Thursday: Cannon:

Efforts to have voters approve slot machines in Gadsden and Washington counties may not count. But the pari-mutuels seeking to expand their gambling offerings dispute an opinion issued by the attorney general Thursday. Attorney General Pam Bondi released an opinion Thursday that the Department of Business and Professional Regulations is not authorized to issue a slot machine license to pari-mutuel facilities even if countywide votes allow such an expansion of gambling.

The long odds for an E-Verify immigration bill appeared to get longer Thursday as House leaders assigned House Bill 1315 to be heard by four committees. That's a lot of stops in a session that's supposed to run just eight weeks. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, must clear the House Government Operations Subcommittee, the Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee, the Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and the State Affairs Committee.

The Florida Family Association accused a Tampa-based Islamic activist of sending mixed signals on terrorism and questioned the propriety of him speaking to high school classes. But Hassan Shibly, director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says there should be no confusion or concern. In a statement Thursday, FFA alleged that "Shibly opposed government detention of suspected terrorists" and that his "two-sided representations regarding last week's Tampa terrorist arrest illustrate CAIRs conflict with the truth."

On Thursday, Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas named Miami GOP activist Emiliano Antunez to his national Hispanic outreach team. The only presidential candidate of any party that is addressing the issues that truly matter, said Antunez of Paul.

Tony Perkins, the former Louisiana state legislator who now leads the Family Research Council, a prominent social and religious conservative group, announced on Thursday that he is backing attempts in Florida to ban all abortions. Personhood Florida is attempting to push a state constitutional amendment similar to the one that went down in defeat in Mississippi last year.

U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Orlando, a former Florida House speaker, said that to win the Republican primary in Florida on Jan. 31 the candidates must offer a plan that moves the economy away from President Barack Obamas efforts. Voters are looking for a plan that provides certainty, that provides capital for business to expand and confidence among consumers so theyll start buying products, Webster said while speaking Thursday morning on the Sirius XM Radio station POTUS (Politics Of The United States).

On Thursday, businessman Herman Cain announced he is endorsing fellow restaurant executive Craig Miller for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012. Cain, who rocketed to national prominence by running for the Republican presidential nomination and winning the Republican Party of Floridas Presidency 5 straw poll in September, endorsed Miller at a media event in Orlando. After rising to the top of the polls, Cain faded and pulled out of the race after facing accusations of sexual impropriety.