The Republican-controlled state Senate narrowly approved a new map of the chamber's 40 districts Wednesday, moving forward with a plan that opponents said was certain to be struck down by the courts.

The 22-18 vote to approve the map (SJR 2-C) moves the issue to the House, where it faces an uncertain future. Even Senate supporters of the map say they aren't sure whether House leaders will accept the proposal before a redistricting special session ends next week.

The political realities of redistricting burst into the open Tuesday, as the Senate approved a proposal increasing the Hispanic share of three of the chamber's South Florida seats over objections from Democrats who argued the move was an attempt to prevent incumbents from running against each other.

The Legislature on Wednesday released six draft maps of Senate districts for a special session that begins next week, opening up the next phase of a long-running battle over Florida's congressional and legislative lines.

Legislative leaders hope to have a new map of the 40 state Senate districts done by 3 p.m. on Nov. 6, according to the official "call" of a special redistricting session scheduled to begin in two weeks.

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, issued the call Monday for the special session, which will start at noon Oct. 19. Legislative leaders earlier announced the dates of the session, but the call provides formal details.

The state is inching closer to a bear hunt, but ursine mammals aren't the only things being targeted in Florida government and politics.

In Leon County, a judge is hunting for the right map of the state's congressional districts to send to the Florida Supreme Court. And Gov. Rick Scott is aiming at what he calls "price-gouging" by some of the state's hospitals --- raising the prospect of another health-care showdown in the legislative session that begins in January.

Maybe the Republican Party of Florida didn't need to toughen the rules on how 2016 GOP presidential candidates can qualify for the state's primary ballot after all.

A week after the party eased a plan that would have required candidates to submit their qualifying papers at the party's "Sunshine Summit" event in November, several candidates have already confirmed they'll stop by the fall shindig.

State senators are scheduled next week to begin considering whether to keep the Confederate flag on the Senate's official seal, another sign of a growing national tide against icons of the South's rebellion in the 1860s.

The Senate Rules Committee will meet Oct. 8 to begin re-examining the current emblem of the chamber. Under Senate rules, the seal includes "a fan of the five flags which have flown over Florida" --- those of the United States, Confederate States of America, France, Great Britain and Spain.

Two top lawmakers are on a list of witnesses and depositions that the Florida House and Senate plan to use at a Thursday court hearing to defend congressional redistricting proposals.

Sen. Jeff Brandes drove an electric car around the state Capitol on Thursday. Someone might want to ask him if he got up to 88 mph.

Because much of this week in Tallahassee seemed like it was going Back to the Future. (The DeLorean in the 1980s film franchise had to reach 88 mph to start the time-travel process.) From the debate over guns on college campuses to the continuing fallout from this year's botched roll-out of the state's new standardized tests, the discussion seemed to be holdovers or leftovers from the 2015 legislative session --- or even earlier.

Despite a transition to managed care meant to tame huge increases in Medicaid spending, the health-care program for low-income Floridians still threatens to consume almost half of the state's revenue growth, an economist told lawmakers Tuesday.