Did someone misplace their lawmaker handbook?

The Senate session was riddled with confusion this morning, as some members found themselves befuddled by the process of grafting the Senate and House budgets together in advance of next week's budget conference. The procedural process on the Senate floor today takes House appropriations bills not on the Senate's proposed budget plan and transfers them onto the Senate plan, unchanged.

No substantive action is taken. That's left for the conference sessions next week.

Republicans in the House plan to continue the push against the new federal health-care laws that President Barack Obama signed into law last month. They just did not want to do it on Monday night.

The House Rules Policy Council met on Monday night, after a marathon 8 hour session of the House Education Policy Committee. They were supposed to tackle a resolution that would take the healthcare issue to the ballot in November, giving Floridians a chance to amend the constitution in light of the new federal laws.

After outraising Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, in the last quarter of 2009, there were whispers that Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, was the new frontrunner in the attorney general race. Aronberg outraised Gelber by $50,000 in the last quarter of 2009.

As a field of prominent Republicans continue to ponder entering the race for the seat that U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart is giving up, one of the candidates who plunged in early, Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, is off to a fast start. Rivera is announcing that he reeled in $700,000 in the first quarter of 2010. This is even more impressive considering Rivera has been in the race for a little over a month, initially had been planning to run for state senate and has his hands full in Tallahassee with the budget.

Gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery is trying to convince people she's a true conservative despite the fact (or perhaps because of the fact) that she's been siding with more liberal viewpoints and organizations.

For example, Friday afternoon Paula Dockery released an op-ed saying why she's siding with the state's largest teachers union and voted against a bill that would determine a teacher's salary based on performance.

She calls SB 6 an unaffordable "power grab" that will "destroy jobs" and eliminate individual responsibility.

File this one under Things You Didn't Expect: St. Petersburg Times bigwig Paul Tash is a registered Republican.

On top of that, the Times CEO now sits on the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee, which is designed to lure the 2012 Republican National Convention to the Bay Area.

Take a moment to recover from your shock.

What did Gov. Charlie Crist know about Jim Greers alleged shenanigans and when did he know it?

And shouldnt the media be looking just as deeply into the fundraising and expenditure records of the Florida Democratic Party?

(read more)

Looks like it was a one-two punch for Florida teacher Shawn Beightol.

Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder is fed up with state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, and he's considering running against him in the next election, according to The Stuart News.

The challenge from Crowder, a Republican, comes amid passionate dissent from the Republican-dominated Treasure Coast to Negron's SB 1216. The bill calls for voters to decide every six years whether to close, continue or make cuts to one of the state's eight Children's Services Councils.

A stunning loss for Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, and the leadership moments after the House passed the budget.

HB 5701 which would have ended the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS). The state contributes between $30 to $150 per month to retirees based on their years of service with the average retiree getting $105 a month.

The bill made it through the Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development on an 11-6 vote. But it went down to defeat on a 57-59 vote when it was in the House.