After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

The Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee has passed HB 351, formally titled "Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases" but more popularly referred to as an "Anti-Sharia Bill." The bill is modeled after legislation proposed by activist groups who claim Islamic law, which discriminates against women and non-Muslims, is stealthily encroaching upon the American judicial system.

The Florida Supreme Court has issued its unanimous ruling in the foreclosure fraud caseRoman Pino v. The Bank of New York Mellon. In an opinion authored by Justice Barbara Pariente, the court ruled that a trial court may not reinstate a voluntarily dismissed civil action, even if the defendant alleges that the plaintiff committed fraud on the court, unless that defendant suffered some kind of harm. Pino had alleged that New York Mellon Bank had filed fraudulent documents in its foreclosure suit against him in 2008.

TheFlorida House Civil Justice Subcommittee has approved a foreclosure reform bill, HB 87, sponsored by Rep.Kathleen Passidimo, R-Naples. The bill aims to streamline and expedite the foreclosure process. Among other things, it reduces the statute of limitations for deficiency judgments from five years to one year, and requires the lender in a foreclosure action to provide certain documents proving ownership of the loan beforeforeclosureproceedings begin. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 10-3.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, who will co-host the Florida congressional delegations review of the Florida ports on Feb. 14, is calling for unity from the 27 members of the delegation on improving the seaports. Expanding our exports and in turn creating new jobs is an issue where Republicans and Democrats can work together and find common ground, Buchanan stated in a release.