Before Gov. Rick Scott sailed into the port issue by backing the Port of Miami's effort to dredge to 50 feet, Florida business interests had been ratcheting up their focus on what they say had been a forgotten secondary piece of the states economy.

The public hook -- as highlighted in the attention given to the Port of Miami -- has become that Florida ports and accompanying commercial rail and highways must be ready when the widening of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014.

Known primarily for its cruise ships, Port Canaveral has been concentrating its growing commercial focus on robust trade already coming from Central and South America.

There is untapped potential for containers, whether through direct call or via feeder vessel, and short-sea shipping of domestic loads, all, again, because of our role as Orlandos port, said Port Canaveral CEO J. Stanley Stan Payne.

Port Canaveral -- What is there:

A Florida House committee will begin discussions Wednesday to answer the call for reform of personal injury protection auto insurance by Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.

Atwater said organized crime and huckster legal services have driven up personal injury premiums by $910 million through staged accidents.

Instead of junking coverage designed to reduce insurance costs by avoiding litigation over minor injuries in crashes, Scott said he believes personal injury protection insurance can be salvaged.

A gaming commission proposed to oversee pari-mutuels, Internet cafes and the potential trio of 5-star casinos in South Florida may also have the state lottery under its watch.

Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, said Tuesday she has check with legal counsel to determine if the Florida Gaming Commission -- being designed to close loopholes and regulate existing gaming options -- can also oversee the voter approved Florida lottery.

As a former Republican Party of Florida chairman, Al Cardenas knew the government in Florida is conservative.

As the chairman of the American Conservative Union, he admits his reaction was Wow when he saw how conservative the Legislature had become.

It was a wow moment for the movement, Cardenas said Tuesday as the ACU released its first conservative ratings of the Florida legislature. You let these experts come up with the matrix and they came with an analysis of dozens of bills and figured out which were best to home in on and then you grade them.

Senators want to change the super exemption tax breaks offered first-time home buyers, and seasonal or second home owners, in a referendum already approved to go before voters next November.

Seeking to pump life into Floridas anemic real estate market by making Floridas property tax structure more equitable, Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, has proposed legislators replace the language in Amendment 4 that was approved for the ballot in the spring.

While Floridas pension plan funding is considered one of the healthiest in the nation, nearly a third of the 208 municipal programs in the state hold poor to failing marks, according to the Leroy Collins Institute at Florida State University.

The institute released a report last week that shows the majority of the municipal pension plans in the states 100 largest cities are at least 70 percent funded, earning a grade of C or better on a 10-point scale, with 14 percent getting A marks.

Economists consider a funding level higher than 80 percent to be sound.