A bill that originally sought to limit how much doctors can charge for dispensing repackaged drugs to workers' compensation patients died after one Senate subcommittee vote, but it got a kiss of life when, moments later, one senator changed his vote and another returned to his seat.

"Never seen that before," said Delmus Ralther, a law enforcement officer waiting to speak on another bill. "They were rushing every other bill through, but they take time to revisit one after the vote? Wow."

The House gave in to the Senate on where money from higher education would come from to help advance budget talks that finally moved into the conference phase Tuesday night.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said the higher education deal shouldnt be considered a victory for either chamber, but instead an example of the two sides working to settle a complex issue.

It was very gracious of House leadership to work with us on that, Alexander said.

Lawmakers refused Tuesday to lift a cap on the number of trauma centers in Florida, while also siding with hospitals in a dispute about contracting with managed-care plans.

The House eliminated parts of an omnibus health-care bill that dealt with both of the issues, which have been closely watched by hospital lobbyists. A Senate subcommittee also went along with hospitals on the contracting issue.

Super-PAC donors acting as kingmakers in presidential contest

-- The Washington Post

Feb. 22, 2012

Florida congressmen and veterans' groups on Tuesday blasted an Obama administration plan to double or triple Tricare medical premiums for active-duty and retired military personnel.

The sharply higher prices reportedly are designed to push service members and veterans out of the military's Tricare program and into Obamacare's insurance exchanges. The administration believes the move will cut Tricare costs by $1.8 billion in fiscal 2013 and $12.9 billion by 2017.

A bill aimed at streamlining the foreclosure process is more than just reducing the backlog of cases in the court system and rebuilding the real estate market, state Sen. Garrett Richter said Monday.

Reducing the number of abandoned homes is also a matter of safety, the Naples Republican said, noting that a Clay County detective was killed Feb. 16 while investigating a narcotics case at a home under foreclosure.

In a complete turnaround, a Senate committee on Monday restored the original language of a bill that would prohibit the state from distributing Social Security numbers.

The Senate Rules Committee, on a motion by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, stripped out an amendment that would have permitted the release of partial numbers, with the last four digits redacted.

The only good news for the Republicans coming out of the seemingly endless presidential candidate "debates" is that some Republican leaders are now belatedly thinking about how they can avoid a repetition of this debacle in future elections.

With different versions of the budget having cleared the House and Senate and two crucial court rulings looming, legislative leaders have begun gaming out the endgame for the 2012 session.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, suggested Monday the end of the session could hinge on three factors:

Florida's "anti-Sharia" legislation received some added impetus last week when a Pennsylvania court bowed to Islamic sensibilities and acquitted a Muslim defendant of assault.

Magistrate Judge Mark Martin recited religious and cultural customs to dismiss a harassment case against a Muslim man who assaulted an atheist activist at a Halloween parade.

The victim, Ernest Perce, wore a Zombie Mohammed costume and pretended to walk among the dead.