The Florida black bear, the brown pelican and 14 other species are set to be removed from the list of threatened species in Florida after a unanimous vote Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The commission began a review four years ago of the list of threatened species in an effort to determine which animals were no longer at risk of extinction in Florida, looking at various factors indicating the risk to the animals survival, including overall population size and the size of the species range.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that new oil drilling is needed in the Gulf of Mexico, a reversal from last year, when, in the wake of the BP spill, he said Florida was going to turn the page away from drilling.

In an interview with Newsmax TV that was Webcast on Tuesday, Haridopolos, also a candidate for U.S. Senate, said that gas prices have changed the paradigm.

In many cases, doctors would still be able to ask patients questions about whether they have guns under a measure approved by a Senate committee on Monday, a result of a compromise between gun rights groups and the medical establishment.

The National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups had pushed for a much stronger bill that would have precluded doctors, in many cases, from asking patients about whether they own guns. Backers of the measure, sponsored by Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, had said patients were being harassed over gun ownership.

A House plan to split the Supreme Court into two five-member panels was approved Thursday by the House Civil Justice Committee, with its Republican sponsor saying the measure will speed up a justice system that currently moves at a crawl.

Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, the chairman of the committee, said he believes the current Supreme Court works hard to get through its docket but simply takes too long.

The Department of Corrections announced plans Tuesday to close three prisons, two boot camp programs and another facility as a way of saving $30 million that agency officials say can be done without releasing any inmates early.

Prisons officials also claim they can do it without many layoffs. A statement from the department said the bulk of the cost savings would be generated through employee attrition.