Caylees bill received unanimous support from the Senate Criminal Justice Committee Thursday.

During a media event in the fourth floor rotunda of the Florida Capitol Thursday, Florida Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, and Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, announced state efforts -- House Memorial 881 and Senate Memorial 1528 -- to encourage Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to create the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program.

Gov. Rick Scott has directed staff to review Floridas special taxing districts, a release from the governors office stated Thursday.

As the race for the Republican presidential nomination heads to South Carolina, with its high concentration of military families and evangelical Christians, those voters will increasingly be the focus of the GOP hopefuls. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was able to score points with both of those key groups in an endorsement he received on Thursday from evangelical leader Rev. James Linzey, the president and founder of the Military Bible Association. The association helps military chaplains, provides Bibles to the military community and offers translations of the Bible.

A striking first for Florida? In this list of the top five fundraisers at the start of 2012, the top two are women.

Seven state prisons and four work/forestry camps are to close by July 1,2012, as part of a statewide consolidation plan that is projected to save $14.9 million this year and $75.8 million the next fiscal year, the Florida Department of Corrections announced Thursday. The plan means the elimination of 1,293 full-time employee positions.

After his victories in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, GOP presidential hopeful former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts continues to build momentum and gain the support of some of the leading Republicans in the nation. Romney unveiled the support of former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, who had briefly been one of his opponents for the Republican presidential nomination back in 2008.

Who are the top five fundraisers in the Florida House of Representatives for the 2012 election? As of the start of the year, here they are: 1 Will Weatherford (R) HD61 $397,150 2 Dana Young (R) HD57 $248,324 3 Chris Dorworth (R) HD34 $220,095 4 Matt Hudson (R) HD101 $192,613 5 Daniel Davis (R) HD13 $189,133

Earlier this month, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, introduced a bill which would let any children who complete kindergarten in private schools in Florida enter first grade in public schools. She is looking to scrap the current state requirement that children who attended private kindergartens in the Sunshine State must be 6 years old by Sept. 1 of the year they enter first grade to enter that grade in the public schools.

With opinion polls giving Newt Gingrich the best chance to beat front-runner Mitt Romney in South Carolina, the co-founder of NotMittRomney.com has thrown in with the former House speaker. "Multiple polls are showing a Newt tie with Mitt. In a week, I expect that to turn into a lead. If Newt wins South Carolina, like we've been planning for, then all eyes are on Florida," said Ali Akbar in endorsing Gingrich. Akbar stressed that the endorsement was a personal one, and that the NotMittRomney.com organization remains unaligned ... for now.

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum came out swinging on Thursday at former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. McCollum is supporting his former congressional colleague Newt Gingrich in the race and is one of his chairmen in Florida. In an email sent out to supporters Thursday morning, McCollum insisted Romney is burdened by his continued defense of Romneycare.

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, who had considered launching his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination, announced on Thursday that he is backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Reid Wilson at National Journal offers an interesting and in-depth look at the leading Republican vice presidential hopefuls. Wilson gives good insight on what Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is looking for in a running mate and there are some leading possibilities including John Thune, Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell. Wilson also has some insight on Marco Rubios chances of ending up on the ticket:

U.S. Rep. Connie Macks team is having a good week. Besides leading the GOP primary field in a poll from Quinnipiac University released on Wednesday, Macks team did a very solid job of managing -- and exceeding -- fundraising expectations for the last quarter of 2011. Jeff Cohen, the campaign manager of Macks bid for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, sent out an email to supporters on Thursday in which he noted the campaign brought in more than $758,000 and had almost $918,000 in the bank.

A bill to ban texting while driving received favorable but not unanimous support Thursday morning from the Senate Committee on Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities. Texting itself wouldnt be enough of an offense for a motorist to be pulled over, but a ticket would be issued as a secondary offense if law enforcement sees the driver texting or reading texts while committing another offense, such as speeding or reckless driving. Under the bill,a motorist could still check texts while the car is idling.