An insurance-backed effort to make it easier for the industry to deny personal injury protection claims stalled in both chambers Monday following a withering assault from attorneys who represent motorists, physicians, chiropractors and other providers.

By a 9-8 vote, the House Health and Human Services Committee defeated a pair of measures (HB 967 and HB 1411) requested by auto insurers and backed by state insurance regulators that backers say is needed to address fraudulent insurance claims that cost policyholders collectively $1 billion a year.

Florida taxpayers paid $11.7 million to 197 "communications" and "legislative affairs" employees working for state agencies, a Florida TaxWatch study found.

Adding standard state benefits, the total outlay climbs past $14 million, or $38,467 each day, TaxWatch reported.

"The levels and number of administrative and support bureaucratic staff has been forced to shrink, but too many in our state bureaucracy defy the gravity of downsizing," said TaxWatch president Dominic Calabro.

Gov. Haley Barbour announced Monday he will not seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

While Barbours name has generated some buzz, he trailed badly in polls at both the national level and in key early contests, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

"I will not be a candidate for president next year, said Barbour. "This has been a difficult personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided."