The Florida First Initiative, a 527 organization with ties to supporters of Attorney General Bill McCollum, is out with another commercial blasting Rick Scott -- McCollums chief rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

The commercial rips into Scott for his failure to deal with Medicaid fraud problems during his tenure in charge of HCA/Columbia.

With the House and Senate adjourning, instead of forwarding a proposed constitutional amendment banning oil drilling in Florida waters to the voters, candidates for statewide office promptly offered their opinions on the Legislatures quick session.

To say Im disappointed would be an understatement, said Gov. Charlie Crist, who had called the Legislature into the special session. I cant believe the Legislature has shirked their duty so badly.

Jobless benefits are on track to be extended for the long-unemployed.

With a 60-40 vote, the Senate secured the bare minimum number of votes to break a Republican filibuster preventing the extension of unemployment benefits. Republicans had tried to stop the vote because it would require more borrowing of money to continue extending those benefits.

The final vote will be later Tuesday and is expected to pass.

The Senate just adjourned, ending the special session that Gov. Charlie Crist called to forward a proposed amendment banning oil drilling in state waters to the voters in November.

Backers of the measure in the Senate said they were ready to forward that measure to the voters -- only to have the House adjourn.

We are ready, willing and able to go, said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, who sponsored the measure in the Senate.Villalobos said that he had the votes to get the measure through the Senate. The House is not here. I cant prevail because they left.

Marco Rubios team is not the only conservative Republican campaign weighing in on Gov. Charlie Crists interview with the Wall Street Journal in which the governor said he is now open to backing new federal health-care laws endorsed by President Barack Obama. Republican gubernatorial front-runner Rick Scott blasted Crist for his comments -- and took a swipe at Attorney General Bill McCollum who is also running in the Republican primary.

Well, that was quick. Gov. Charlie Crist's special session ended in 43 minutes.

Throwing down the gauntlet at Gov. Charlie Crist who left the Republican Party earlier in the year, House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, just convened the special session of the Legislature -- and quickly adjourned it.

The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to call the Legislature into special session for any legislative purpose, said Cretul. When the call is issued, we are compelled to assemble.

But from the moment a quorum assembled here, the agenda in this House is and always will be set by its membership.

On Tuesday, Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a new poll showing that Gov. Charlie Crist, an independent candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate election, leads the race. Crist came in with 35 percent support while former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the likely Republican candidate, pulls second at 29 percent and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat, places a distant third with 17 percent.

Less than an hour before the Legislature was to convene at noon on Tuesday for a special session, Gov. Charlie Crist spoke to Floridians who were visiting the Capitol to lobby for the Legislature to forward a proposed constitutional amendment banning oil drilling in Florida waters to the November ballot and received a standing ovation for his support of the ban.

Hours before the Legislature convened at noon on Tuesday to open a special session, Democrats in Tallahassee called for Republican leadership to forward a proposed constitutional amendment banning oil drilling in state waters to the voters in November.

While rumors continue to fly that the Legislature would quickly adjourn, the House Democrats urged the Republicans to focus on the proposed amendment.

The issue today is to pass legislation to allow people to vote whether to let Florida become an oil state, said House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands of Weston.