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

As the session wound down, the Florida Senate voted Friday night to join the House and back the personal injury protection reform that Gov. Rick Scott made one of his chief priorities. The measure passed 22-17. This is a triumphant moment for the residents of Florida, Scott said in a statement. "Members of the Legislature heard our call to put Floridians ahead of special interests and combat the fraud that has become a billion-dollar tax on drivers.

This is my nomination for the best political story of the year sofar.

As the Florida Legislature faced the last hours of the session on Friday, Gov. Rick Scott released his weekly radio address and praised lawmakers for adding $1 billion to education in the budget they would be voting on later that day.

Assailed by Muslim groups and shelved by Senate President Mike Haridopolos, an "anti-Sharia" law bill lay near death at the Florida Legislature Friday. Senate Bill 1360 would have restricted state courts from considering foreign laws in most cases. Authored by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, the bill was identical to HB 1209, whicheasily passed the House 92-24. But Hays' bill became ensnared in a late-breaking political controversy when proponents distributed flamboyant fliers and a pamphlet decrying the alleged intrusion of Islamic law into America's courts.