In a vote that fell completely along party lines, Floridas Joint Legislative Budget Commission approved on Wednesday a proposal by the Department of Corrections (DOC) to privatize health services in the states prisons.

Of the 10 members of the Commission who were present at the meeting, all six Republicans voted to support the measure, while the remaining Democrats voted against it, after about 45 minutes of hearings and debate. Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, and Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, led the charge against the DOCs proposals.

As Floridas Joint Legislative Budget Commission (LBC) meets Wednesday to consider a proposal to privatize prison health services, spokesmen for the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and two for-profit prison health service providers are rebutting accusations made at a Tuesday morning press conference.

As Floridas Joint Legislative Budget Commission (LBC) prepares to meet Wednesday to consider a proposal to privatize prison health services, an attorney representing public-sector unions vows the state should be prepared for another lawsuit if approval of the proposal is forthcoming.

Well be moving promptly, said attorney Tom Brooks, one of the lawyers representing the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), at a press conference Tuesday morning. The [Department of Corrections] actions will be challenged.

President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have spent the last several months trying to portray their rival Republicans calls for more limited government as some rallying cry for libertarian extremism.

Republicans have gone from a preference for market-based solutions to an absolutism when it comes to the marketplace; a belief that all regulations are bad; that government has no role to play, the president said in a speech back in June.

The Supreme Court of Florida heard oral arguments Friday morning in an appeal by Republican Gov. Rick Scotts administration of a March ruling by a circuit judge overturning key elements of the Legislature's 2011 reform of the state employee retirement system.

As two Florida Democratic state representatives contest their recent primary election defeats through the courts, a political consultant from one of the state's major bipartisan consulting firms suggests the Haitian legislators might be the victims of a political "ethnic cleansing" by their own party officials.

Former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner has added his name to the growing chorus of Republican leaders slamming the Democratic Party for its new policy on Israel.

The policy removes from the 2012 edition of its platform language which more explicitly signaled support for the Jewish state of Israel and condemnation of its terrorist enemies.

While the new heads of committees and the agenda for the 2013 session have yet to be determined, there are signs that next years education battles in the Florida Legislature will center around the state university system, as lawmakers debate how to raise much-needed funds and whether to create the Sunshine States first online university.

Ryan Duffy, spokesman for House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, was mum on details, but told Sunshine State News that higher education was shaping up to be the next frontier in Florida education reform.

The Sunshine State capitals resident law school can boast of two new additions to its already long list of honors and accolades.

On Aug. 28 Hispanic Business magazine released its 2012 list of the nations top law schools for Hispanic students. Of the 202 schools accredited by the American Bar Association, Miamis Florida International University College of Law and Tallahassees Florida State University College of Law ranked second and third best, respectively, while the University of Miami School of Law made it to ninth place.

As several leftist civic groups crow victory over a federal judges recent suppression of a few elements of Floridas 2011 revisions to its elections laws, a source close to the Department of State (DOS) tells Sunshine State News the lions share of the ruling represents a victory for the state and greater accountability for third-party voter registrants.