The House also must approve the proposal by a 60 percent vote.

House Majority Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando said the change would allow greater accountability in counties with single-member districts. The Hialeah Republican had been under pressure from his own Republican colleagues in the House, and Gov. Jeb Bush's plan to revive private-school vouchers for students at failing public schools has risen from the ashes. It would also eliminate the ability to take property for the reasons of slum and blight. Lucie, said that Senate committee meetings that had been scheduled for early December were being canceled, and noted the likelihood of a January special session. The Senate version has narrow wording that would only make the change on option in Orange, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Needelman, however, says he hadn't brought up the bill because Allen hasn't responded to concerns he and other lawmakers and staffers have raised, such as whether the measure conflicts with maritime laws. Johnson also criticized Lee for accepting far more in campaign contributions from the insurance industry, though Lee has also raised far more money overall than Johnson.

Democratic candidate for governor Rod Smith will be formally endorsed by the statewide United Auto Workers on Monday, his campaign announced today. The Ethics and Elections Committee, which Posey chairs, voted down his proposal, only to have fellow Sen. House campaigns, two Florida races already figure in the nation's top 10. Tom Feeney and Ric Keller have jumped to big leads over their Democratic rivals in the money-raising race for their re-election campaigns this fall. But 45 percent of voters still said they didn't know enough about Crist to have an opinion, while 49 percent felt the same about Gallagher. Mitch Daniels, an Indiana Republican, spoke to the press. Not so fast, writes Bill Helmich, the state GOP's political director for House campaigns. Fred Brummer, is running this fall for a seat on the Orange County Commission.

The later start date would go into effect for the 2007-08 school year. The bills have to come back to the House before heading to governor. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, the chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, pledged to bring the bill up again next week. Ralph Arza resigned Wednesday from the Legislature, bowing to pressure to quit after leaving messages filled with obscenities and a racial slur on a colleague's voice mail. But those who tuned in got to see a spirited contrast between the two candidates. It has House approval and will move to the Senate floor next. Senate flounders, put off questions again Friday about getting into the race. Jeb Bush again insisted Friday that he had no interest in entering that campaign. Of course, Iowa Republicans aren't letting the trip go unnoticed.

Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, who insisted that term limits have given too much power to lobbyists and senior staff members. The chief architect of that plan, Apopka Republican Rep. Meanwhile, in neighboring District 38, the race to replace term-limited Rep. Jeb Bush had also said he should quit after the messages left on Rep. In his memo to Senate staff on Wednesday, Pruitt, R-Port St. Sheri McInvale, the Orlando lawmaker who eked out a re-election win two years ago and who switched parties from Democrat to Republican a few months ago. Proponents however, argue that additional funding is necessary to deal with gridlock and tourists are not counted when the state distributes transportation funding based on population. He was House speaker before becoming a well-heeled lobbyist and remains one of Gov.