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

The House has released the following statement regarding the budget conferences sessions with the Senate that begin at 7 p.m. tonight: The Florida House of Representatives Office of the Speaker, 420 The Capitol, 402 South Monroe St., Tallahassee, Fla. 32399-1300. MEMORANDUM TO: Members, Florida House of Representatives FROM: Dean Cannon, Speaker DATE: Feb. 28, 2012 RE: Budget Conference

Adam Hasner tightened his grip on the GOP nomination in the 22nd Congressional District on Tuesday with the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio said, "As my majority leader in the Florida House, Adam Hasner and I worked side by side taking on the status quo in Tallahassee, and together we can do the same thing in Washington." Calling Hasner "a passionate advocate for American values," Rubio applauded the former state lawmaker's "proven record of cutting red tape and wasteful spending."

The final stumbling block impeding budget conference sessions from moving forward between the House and Senate has been cleared, House Speaker Dean Cannon said Tuesday afternoon. Hopefully, well begin sometime this evening, Cannon said of the talks to reconcile the approximately $70 billion budgets from each chamber. A news release a short time later set the first conference meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

With Arizona and Michigan holding their Republican presidential primaries on Tuesday, the race for the GOP nomination moves on to Washington state, which holds its caucus on March 3, and 11 states that hold caucuses and primaries on March 6 -- including delegate-rich Ohio. With 66 delegates at stake, the Buckeye State, which holds a primary, ranks second behind Georgia as the biggest prize up for grabs on March 6.