Gov. Rick Scott signed 34 bills Friday, including measures affecting mortgage foreclosures, landlord-tenant disputes, parental rights and even the disposition of human remains.

A pair of state agencies, the Department of Health and Office of Financial Regulation, hailed a couple measures aimed at combating Medicaid fraud and unscrupulous check-cashing firms. Most of the bills signed, however, drew only modest attention during the Legislature.

Today’s bill-signings are here: http://bit.ly/ZyPxfI

Tropical Storm Andrea already spawned eight tornadoes across the state and Gov. Rick Scott warned Thursday that as much as six inches of rain was possible before the weather system’s expected midnight exit from Florida.

Scott also tried to send an upbeat message to tourists watching the weather during a briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

“For people coming to our state…keep your travel plans,” Scott said. “This is going to pass very quickly through our state.”

Despite the spate of tornadoes, Scott said officials had not reports of property damage. The fast-moving storm was expected make its way across North and Central Florida, bringing higher tides to the Cedar Key region of Florida’s Gulf Coast but little coastal erosion.

Scott also used his midday briefing to lash out at President Obama over federal budget cuts which could lead to furloughs and pay reductions for members of the Florida National Guard. The so-called sequestration was a deal Obama reached in 2011 with the Republican-controlled House to resolve the debt ceiling standoff.

“It doesn’t make any sense why they’re doing it this way,” Scott said.

Scott said Andrea, the first named storm of the hurricane season, gives Floridians a chance to tune-up their hurricane preparations. The governor said households should have three days of supplies on hand in event of a storm.

Bryan Koon, director of the state’s Department of Emergency Management, said, “Tomorrow, this will just be a memory for us.”

Still, the advancing storm drew warnings from the insurance industry.

“In the event of damages, insurers will be on the scene as soon as possible to adjust covered wind claims, and the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP) will service covered flood claims, but first and foremost, people need to be sure they are safe and that they heed all alerts,” said G. Donovan Brown, a spokesman for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

The industry said residents should attempt to minimize damage by securing loose items in their yards, like lawn
chairs, grills and other items that can cause damage if picked up by a tornado or severe windstorm.

Those in the storm’s path should also review their insurance coverage and make sure they have contact information for their agent
or insurer.

The storm is expected to slip across North Florida into Georgia, making its way up the East Coast toward New York and New England by Saturday morning.

Gov. Rick Scott’s administration pushed back Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Labor over the federal agency’s finding that 2011 changes to the state’s unemployment compensation system discriminate against minorities and the disabled.

The state’s Department of Economic Opportunity wrote to U.S. Rep. John Kline, a Minnesota Republican who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, calling for an investigation into what it claimed is the “potential politicization” of the Labor Department.

The letter from Robert Sechen, DEO’s general counsel, concluded that Labor investigators “collaborated with the political group that filed the complaint” over the state’s requirement that those seeking benefits file online and complete a skills test.

In April, the Labor Department reached an “initial determination” that the state effectively violated the civil rights of laid-off workers by installing a system difficult to navigate.

“In this case, this flawed process has resulted in a federal agency recklessly maligning the reputations of hundreds of hard-working state employees, who come to work each day to fulfill a mission of helping unemployed Floridians get back to work,” Sechen wrote Wednesday.

The DEO move seems partially inspired by the increasing focus on other agencies under President Obama, including the Internal Revenue Service, accused of political activity for targeting conservative organizations for closer scrutiny. The U.S. Justice Department also is under the microscope for seizing phone records from the Associated Press.

In the Florida case, the The National Employment Law Project, Florida Legal Services and Miami Workers Center challenged Florida’s law in 2011, charging that sweeping changes to how Florida workers must file claims denied unemployment checks to thousands of eligible Floridians.

Critics also said that workers’ frustration with the system could be aiding Scott’s goal of reducing unemployment. Some workers may abandon their job search or just leave the state, falling out of Florida’s labor market.

The state in recent weeks entered into negotiations with the federal government to reach voluntary compliance with the ruling. It also put in place remedies to make unemployment insurance available to job-seekers unable to complete online claim requirements.

But Sechen on Wednesday said Labor officials have since been trying to “coerce” the state into acknowledging “each and every finding in USDOL’s flawed investigation.” Sechen said it was time for Congress to investigate the agency he accused of using tactics ”improper, retaliatory, intimidating and…far below acceptable standards of conduct.”

Val Greenfield, an attorney with Florida Legal Services, said Wednesday that her organization has had limited contact with Labor Department investigators. Since the April finding, negotiations have been conducted solely between the state and federal officials, she said.

“We were very surprised by this letter,” Greenfield said. “We are completely unaware of any bias in this investigation. But this action is very disappointing for Florida workers.”

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a measure requiring treatment for infants born after an attempted abortion, passed unanimously by the Florida Legislature last month.

The “Infants Born Alive” bill (HB 1129) requires infants born alive after an attempted abortion to provide resuscitative care and require that they be transported to hospitals and receive emergency aid. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, is modeled on a similar federal law also enacted by other states.

“As a father and grandfather, there is nothing more precious or special than welcoming a new child into this world and by signing this bill, we are protecting the most vulnerable among us and affirming their rights as individuals. This legislation ensures common-sense measures are taken to help care for the babies who survive abortion procedures and grants those infants the same rights as infants who are born naturally,” Scott, a Republican seeking reelection to a second term as governor, said in a statement.

Florida lawmakers unanimously approved the measure after Planned Parenthood representatives signed off on the bill. The new law also requires abortion providers to report infants born alive to the state.

Health care providers say that the chances of an infant being born alive after an abortion are extremely rare because third-trimester abortions are prohibited in Florida unless the life of the mother is in danger. Infants born before then could not survive, some abortion advocates said during testimony on the measure.

Scott, accompanied by his wife Ann and abortion opponents, signed the bill into law at the Florida Baptist Children’s Home in Cantonment. The Panhandle community is near Pensacola, home to some of the state’s most strident anti-abortion activists and the site of an abortion clinic bombing in 1984. Two abortion doctors were gunned down at clinics in Pensacola and a third abortion worker was also killed.

Florida Democrats continued Wednesday to bring the heat on Gov. Rick Scott for vetoing legislation aimed at making it easier for children of undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ licenses.

Several Orlando-area House and Senate Democrats gathered outside the county courthouse to blast the Republican governor for what they see as a backward step on immigration.

“This bill would have helped the diverse communities of Central Florida,” said Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando. “The governor missed an opportunity to embrace the Floridians of today.”

Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, also said that Scott’s action was in sharp contrast to the approach of the Obama administration with its support for the so-called Dream Act aimed at creating an eventual path to citizenship for undocumented residents.

“The Dream Act driver’s license bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Soto said, of the measure approved 115-2 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate. “It passed because we as a legislature understand these young Floridians receiving deferred action require a driver’s license to pursue the American Dream.

“Scott’s veto yesterday flew in the face of this fundamental belief, and has effectively denied this opportunity for thousands of young Hispanics, Haitians, and other immigrants legally here in our great state,” Soto said.

Scott is likely to draw strongest support for his action from conservative groups already wary of federal efforts to ease sanctions against illegal immigrants. The 2012 elections, marked by the Republican Party’s struggle to attract minority voters, seemed to soften the GOP-ruled Legislature’s stance on the issue.

But Scott held firm.

In his veto, Scott said the bill’s reliance on an untested federal policy was alarming. In June 2012, the Obama administration said children brought illegally to the country would not be subject to deportation under most circumstances. But Scott said standard that doesn’t carry the authority of law.

Florida already allows immigrants legally allowed to work the opportunity to receive temporary drivers’ licenses. For now, Scott said that was enough.

In his veto letter, Scott wrote, “Although the Legislature may have been well-intentioned in seeking to expedite the process to obtain a temporary driver license, it should not have been done by relying on a federal government policy adopted without legal basis.”

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Wednesday a pair of lawsuit-limiting measures long-sought by business leaders  but opposed by Democratic-allied trial lawyers.

Both bills increase the standard for expert witnesses called to testify in cases. One measure (HB 7015) signed by Scott requires Florida courts to use the same, three-part test used in the federal system to determine whether a witness called to testify can be considered an “expert” in a field.

The other bill (SB 1792) requires a doctor called to testify as an expert must practice in the same specialty as the health care provider against whom the lawsuit was filed.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce hailed the changes.

“This is an important step forward in improving Florida’s legal climate and making our state more competitive,” said Dave Hart, a chamber vice-president. “These improvements…will provide predictability in our state’s courtrooms and create stability for our businesses and entrepreneurs, so they can grow their workforce and take us down the road toward economic prosperity.”

The Florida Justice Association didn’t see it that way. Singling out the new, three-part test requirement, executive director Debra Henley said the change will cost businesses and individuals more in legal fees and other expenses tied to finding experts.

“Trials will be won not on the grounds of who has the strongest case, but rather who has the largest bank account,” Henley said.

She added, “The new law overburdens our already strained justice system. Because of this law, cases will be more
expensive and the process of seeking justice will take longer. There was not a need for this legislation as it did not create jobs and actually harms small business.”

Shirley Walker-Turner

If convicted of the misdemeanor offense, Walker-Turner would likely be removed from office by Gov. Rick Scott. Scott suspended Walker-Turner and two other South Bay elected officials in December when they were charged with violating the Sunshine Law. After Walker-Turner won a special election last month, Scott reinstated her pending the outcome of the Sunshine Law case.

Walker-Turner was scheduled to go on trial before Judge August Bonavita this morning. But her attorney, Jeffrey Weiner, filed a motion this week saying he expects to undergo surgery this week or next week and cannot try the case.

Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney Michael Dutko did not oppose the motion.

Walker-Turner’s trial is now set for Sept. 18.

The Sunshine Law requires public officials to conduct public business in public. Walker-Turner and commissioners John Wilson and Linda Johnson were charged with agreeing in private meetings to approve a $25,139 payment to former city manager Corey Alston for unused vacation time. The three elected officials never huddled together, but prosecutors said Alston acted as a “conduit” through a series of one-on-one conversations with each official.

Johnson was found guilty in a March trial and Wilson entered a guilty plea last month. Walker-Turner pleaded not guilty. She has said she had private conversations with Alston about his vacation pay but “at no time did he tell me what Wilson or Johnson had stated on an issue.”

Royal Palm Beach Councilman Fred Pinto, an administrative assistant to term-limited Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, announced Tuesday that he plans to run for his boss’ District 6 seat.

Pinto said he plans to file his candidacy paperwork with the Supervisor of Elections office in the coming weeks.

Santamaria will be forced out of office by the county’s decade-old term limit rule in 2014. The field of candidates to replace him is expected to be crowded.

Pinto is the second candidate to announce plans to run for the seat. Former Wellington mayor Kathy Foster has also said she will run.

Santamaria’s district includes Wellington, Royal Palm Beach and the Glades.

Rick Scott vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have allowed children of undocumented immigrants to get Florida drivers’ licenses, a move likely to rattle the governor’s support within the state’s Hispanic community while bolstering his backing from conservative groups.

The measure (HB 235) had sailed easily through a Republican-controlled Legislature, which in previous years had opposed similar steps toward embracing children of those in the country illegally.

The House approved the bill this spring 115-2; the Senate 36-0, a sign to many that Florida Republicans were looking to distance themselves from the hardline themes of the 2012 elections.

Scott, however, said the bill’s reliance on a newly adopted policy of the Obama administration was alarming.

In June 2012, the administration said children brought illegally to the country would not be subject to deportation under most circumstances.

Florida already allows immigrants legally allowed to work the opportunity to receive temporary drivers’ licenses. For now, Scott said that was enough.

In his veto letter, Scott wrote, “Although the Legislature may have been well intentioned in seeking to expedite the process to obtain a temporary driver license, it should not have been done by relying on a federal government policy adopted without legal basis.”

Florida Democrats lashed out at Scott.

“Rick Scott continues to alienate and discriminate against thousands of undocumented immigrants,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Joshua Karp. “Instead of joining the legislature’s near-unanmous consensus around HB 235, Gov. Scott imposed his rigid ideology on Floridians — to the detriment of the young immigrants who are Florida’s future.”

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to block a ban on Internet cafes sought by senior arcade owners, who say they’ve unfairly been lumped in with the predatory storefront casinos.

Lawyers for Broward County adult arcades Boardwalk Brothers, Inc., and Play It Again FLA, LLC, claimed the law is unconstitutional in part because it is vague and arbitrary and denied seniors who gamble at the arcades their First Amendment rights of association.

The plaintiffs failed to show how the law would prevent seniors from gathering someplace else, U.S. District Judge James Cohn wrote in a 19-page order.

“Moreover, there is no evidence before the Court that enforcement of the statute would force Plaintiffs out of business and prevent patrons from associating at their establishments. Instead, the statute merely limits the types of games that might be offered. And even if the statute did force Plaintiffs out of business, no citizen enjoys a constitutional right to play amusement games,” he wrote.

Cohn did not rule on the merits of the law hurriedly passed by the Legislature in response to a multi-state gambling sting in April.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill on April 10, less than a month after state and federal authorities arrested 57 people in connection with Allied Veterans of the World, a St. Augustine-based nonprofit accused of posing as a charity while running a $300 million illegal gambling ring. The gambling bust also prompted former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to resign. Carroll had worked as a consultant for Allied Veterans while a member of the Florida House.

The arcades also failed to convince Cohn that the statute goes too far. The “state has a significant interest in proscribing the behavior regulated in the statute” and “an important public interest in limiting gambling and preventing minors from gambling.”

Seniors from Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties traveled to Tallahassee to plead with lawmakers to spare the gambling establishments, arguing that the centers offer relatively inexpensive entertainment and spare them from being lonely.

Pushing a pair of strollers and pulling a red wagon, Central Florida women delivered 11,000 petition signatures Tuesday to Gov. Rick Scott, calling on him to veto legislation that would block local governments from adopting mandatory sick time benefits for workers in the community.

Organize Now, MomsRising.org and the National Council of La Raza collected the petition names delivered Tuesday. The groups are fighting HB 655, sought by Walt Disney World, Darden Restaurants and state business associations, which would stop governments from requiring companies to provide sick time to employees.

Working women say the measure affects them most, since they are frequently forced to take time off to care for sick children or other family members. The measure hasn’t been sent to Scott yet by legislative leaders. The governor hasn’t said what he thinks of the proposal.

“There are plenty of existing laws that are different, city-by-city, county-by-county…and large corporations are able to deal with that every day with no problem,” said Stephanie Porta, with Organize Now. “We think the patchwork quilt argument is one that is made up to argue against this.”

Organize Now led the effort to put an earned sick time measure on the ballot in Orange County. In turn, the prospect of voters supporting the requirement led businesses to fight back — with legislation that bars such measures from taking place in any Florida county or city.

“When my kids get sick, the last thing I should have to worry about is losing my day’s wages or worse — getting fired — when I stay home to take care of them,” said Denise Diaz, a mother of two, who lives in Orlando, and pushed a stroller loaded with petitions to Scott’s office.

About $200 million from a National Mortgage Settlement will be scattered across Florida, with cash going to domestic violence centers, Habitat for Humanity and housing subsidies for low-and medium-income homeowners and renters under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott.

“This money will help those who’ve been harmed by foreclosures in this state,” Scott said, moments before signing SB 1852. “Funding in this bill also will help various affordable housing initiatives and will help make additional affordable housing available in the Sunshine State.

“This is very great news for Florida families who are struggling to make ends meet, just like my family was when I was growing up,” he concluded.

Florida is drawing the money as part of a nationwide, $25 billion settlement reached more than a year ago between attorneys general and five big mortgage servicers. It’s taken Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Republican-controlled Legislature months to reach agreement on how to distribute the cash.

“This has been a long time coming,” Bondi said Tuesday. “We are very proud of this settlement.”

The biggest share of the money, $60 million, will go to the Florida House Finance Corp., for the state apartment incentive loan (SAIL) program, mostly to provide rentals for the elderly and developmentally disabled. Another $40 million goes to the State Housing Inititiatve Program (SHIP), also run by the FHFC, to be directed to cities and counties for renovating owner-occupied homes.

“This is a great day for Floridians and a great day for affordable housing,” said Wellington Meffert, of the FHFC.

Bondi acknowledged that the settlement didn’t steer money directly to homeowners struggling to keep homes. But she said that stemmed from the need to maintain accountability over the dollars.

“It’s hard to write checks directly out there. It needed accountability,” Bondi said. “That’s why we’re going through these various agenicies, just to make sure it’s going where it’s meant to go.”

Former Wellington mayor Kathy Foster has launched a 2014 candidacy for the Palm Beach County commission seat of term-limited Jess Santamaria.

Foster, a Democrat, is the first of what could be several candidates to run for the western-county District 6.

“I have been actively involved in the western communities for over 30 years. Running for the county commission is the next logical step in what amounts to a lifetime of service to my community,” said Foster, who was active in efforts to incorporate Wellington and was the village’s first mayor in the 1990s.

Democrats hold a 42.6-to-30.1 registration advantage in the district.

A congressional aide implicated in an absentee ballot scheme in Miami-Dade County while working on a Democratic campaign there also had “a very limited role” producing web videos for Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy’s 2012 campaign.

Murphy was “dismayed” by the news about consultant Jeffrey Garcia, whom the Murphy campaign characterized as a minor player who had no involvement in absentee ballots or get-out-the-vote efforts during Murphy’s 2012 victory over former Republican Rep. Allen West.

Jeffrey Garcia resigned Friday as chief of staff to Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Miami. The Miami Herald reported that Jeffrey Garcia, who is not related to Rep. Garcia, took responsibility for a plot to submit hundreds of fraudulent requests for absentee ballots during the 2012 primary when he was a top adviser to Joe Garcia’s campaign.

Jeffrey Garcia runs Palm Media LLC, which according to Federal Election Committee reports was paid $24,000 by Murphy’s campaign from April 2011 to April 2012 to produce web videos.

“Congressman Murphy was dismayed to hear today of the of the wrong doing involving Mr. Jeff Garcia. The integrity of the electoral process is vital to our political system,” said a Murphy campaign statement over the weekend. “Mr. Garcia’s media company had a very limited role in the campaign which included producing some web videos. He was not one of the campaign’s primary consultants and had no involvement in the campaign’s field program, absentee program or outreach to voters.”

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday began using his veto of a 3 percent tuition increase for college and university students as a money maker– for his re-election campaign.

Scott’s Let’s Get to Work fund-raising committee issued a blast email urging contributors to give at least $10 to “join us in fighting the newest tax increase on Florida families — rising tuition.” Scott’s committee has raised $4.8 million already this year, mostly from big donors.

But in recent weeks Let’s Get to Work has taken a tactical turn and has begun drawing small scale contributions from close to 400 individuals.

The rising army of grassroots givers may be part of an effort to cast the poll-challenged governor in a more favorable light, while building a volunteer base for next year’s campaign.

For more:  http://bit.ly/16E6tqz

The Florida Democratic Party continued to remake its office under new Chair Allison Tant, unveiling a few more changes Monday with a former spokesman for U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, named the party’s communications director.

Joshua Karp worked for Frankel’s campaign last fall and also served as communications director for the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus. Karp takes over for Brannon Jordan, who served the past two years under former Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith.

Also named to new posts Monday were Max Steele, the party’s new press secretary and a former staffer the past two years, and Casey Nesselhauf, research director, who has worked the past four years as a researcher at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

“Their combination of Florida experience, relationships, and political savvy will make our party even stronger, and ensure we are holding Rick Scott and the Florida GOP accountable,” Tant said.

More than 1,800 pages of emails and other documents from Republican consultants will be reviewed in coming weeks by a former Florida Supreme Court justice who will determine whether they should be made public in a lawsuit looking to overturn the state Senate’s new redistricting map.

Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis on Friday said that Major Harding, chosen by lawyers for both sides as a special magistrate in the case, should go through the disputed records behind closed doors to decide their fate.

Lawyers for voters groups want access to the material from Gainesville-based Data Targeting, Inc., a political affairs firm, which counters that the information is both irrelevant in the lawsuit and also poses a business threat, since the data could contain trade secrets.

Adam Schachter, attorney for the League of Women Voters and Common Cause of Florida, said Friday that so far, only 166 pages of documents have been made public by the firm. Another original party in the lawsuit, the National Council of La Raza, withdrew from the case this week.

The voter groups contend that redrawn Senate districts should be thrown out because Republican leaders illegally shared data and
maps with political consultants. The voter-approved Fair District amendments to the state constitution prohibit districts from being drawn to help or hurt incumbents.

But the organizations suing say such communication has become evident in the first rounds of data already provided by the Legislature and various consultants subpoenaed in the lawsuit.

In a brief hearing Friday, Lewis acknowledged the mass of emails he’d reviewed included some names he was familiar with from the political fight over redistricting. Others were from people he didn’t know — but “some (emails) suggested that somebody was being copied” with the information exchanged, Lewis said.

BOCA RATON — Michael Steele, the African-American who was Republican National Committee chairman from 2009 to 2011, said the GOP doesn’t need a lot of high-priced consultants to diagnose its problems with blacks and other minorities.

“You don’t need to spend a million dollars to figure out, hey, we just got our behinds kicked. You don’t need to convene grand meetings and press conferences to know that you lost the Hispanic vote, the Asian vote, the African-American vote, the female vote, the gay vote, the vote of every class of citizen except old white men,” Steele said at a dinner aimed at wooing blacks into the conservative fold.

“And nothing against old white men, but America is more than that and our conversation has to go beyond that because, as I said, America has changed,” Steele said. “Nor do Republicans have to keep repeating — and Lord, please, let them stop – ‘We need to reach out to fill-in-the-blank.’ Just shut up and do it already. Just shut up and do it already because if you listen you’ll understand that that’s what Americans want you do to.”

Steele, former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Congress Of Racial Equality spokesman Niger Innis and author Kevin Jackson spoke at the event sponsored by Boca Raton orthodontist Larry Kawa. Roughly half the audience of 400 was black.

A Republican-allied campaign research and consulting firm surrendered more than 1,800 pages of records this week but asked a judge Thursday to block a demand by Democratic-leaning groups for more emails and documents in a lawsuit over last year’s legislative redistricting battle.

Data Targeting, Inc., a Gainesville-based political affairs firm, said in a motion filed with Leon Circuit Judge Terry Lewis that organizations seeking the records are on an “old-fashioned fishing expedition.”

Lawyers for the company add that documents sought may include “proprietary” information that could threaten relationships with clients and reveal business secrets.

Lewis is expected to rule Friday in the matter, part of a post-redistricting clash that is already in the Florida Supreme Court. There, justices are being asked to dismiss the lawsuit before Lewis, which was filed by the Florida League of Women Voters, Common Cause and the National Council of La Raza.

The voter groups contend that redrawn Senate districts should be thrown out because Republican leaders shared data and
maps with political consultants. The voter-approved Fair District amendments to the state constitution prohibit districts from being drawn to help or hurt incumbents.

But the organizations suing say such communication has become evident in the first rounds of data already provided by the Legislature and various consultants subpoenaed in the lawsuit.

Court documents filed earlier with Lewis show that emails were exchanged between aides to Senate President Don Gaetz,
House Speaker Will Weatherford and consultants who analyzed proposed maps.

The emails also show that in 2010, Rich Heffley, a Florida Republican Party consultant advising Gaetz, then the Senate’s
redistricting chairman, organized a “brainstorming” meeting at the state  party headquarters in Tallahassee.

Other documents in the case show that Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, who are both angling for Senate presidency in coming years, emailed district information to consultants for review.

The  Supreme Court last year ruled the Senate’s initial proposal for redrawing the 40-member chamber unconstitutional. The 5-2 decision found  the Senate plan protected incumbents, packed minority voters into districts and numbered Senate districts in a way to give incumbents more time in office.

It marked the first time since the court was brought into that stage of redistricting in 1972 that justices overturned a legislative map. The House map was approved by justices.

The Florida Republican Party has stepped-up its pot-stirring in the Democratic Party kerfuffle over gubernatorial contender Nan Rich being denied a speaking spot at the upcoming Jefferson-Jackson dinner.

State GOP Chairman Lenny Curry sent letters Thursday to 13,000 South Florida Democrats urging them to mount a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #FreeNanRich.

Curry accused his Democratic counterpart, Allison Tant, of bowing to the wishes of big contributors who are uneasy with the liberal bent of the former state senator from Weston.

Curry also said that Tant is looking to head-off a potential Democratic primary challenge to former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat gaining behind-the-scenes support from many party leaders.

Tant and her advisers have said she denied Rich’s request for five-minutes to speak from the podium at next month’s dinner because she is trying to streamline the event’s agenda. The Jefferson-Jackson gala is scheduled to take place at Hollywood’s Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.

Curry said in his letter, “While Senator Rich and I might not see eye to eye politically, she has a long history of leadership in public service and deserves five minutes of speaking time as the only announced gubernatorial candidate in your party.”