The Senate’s attempt to fix the state’s no-fault automobile insurance market passed its first hurdle Thursday with backers conceding the final product may be much different as the bill proceeds to the floor.

(Photo credit: WTSP-PIP Conference)

With traditional combatants voicing concerns but choosing to fight it out later, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee by unanimous vote approved a measure, SB 1860, that the bill’s sponsor said could reduce costs of personal injury protection insurance up to $125 million a year by reducing fraud, more closely regulating providers and limiting the kinds of treatment available to victims following a crash.

Sponsored by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, the Senate proposal takes a more surgical approach than its House counter proposal as both chambers attempt to clean up an industry that is increasingly riddled by fraud, skyrocketing claims and premium increases despite a drop in the number of crashes.

“SB 1860 reforms PIP from start to finish,” Negron told members before the vote.

Thursday’s 9-0 vote comes after hours of testimony and committee hearings over several weeks in which the committee heard from a host of players from the medical community, insurance industry and legal profession. Belying the complexity of the issue, a working group set up by Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater last year adjourned without reaching consensus on a comprehensive list of recommendations.

Established in the 1970s, PIP was created to offer victims of car crashes some medical assistance regardless of who caused the accident. The system pays up to $10,000 in medical costs. Changes made in 2007 to make the system less litigious may have had the opposite effect as the number of claims and payouts escalated despite a drop in the number of accidents.

Critics blame scam artists, organized crime and unscrupulous providers and profit-seeking attorneys for creating a lucrative market that is costing legitimate policyholders hundreds of millions in additional premiums every year.

To curb fraud, the Senate bill makes accident victims fill out more detailed crash reports and gives law enforcement officials the ability to attend hearings or submit affidavits to augment the crash report. The bill also requires treatment to be conducted at licensed clinics.

The bill prevents insurance companies from adding plaintiff’s attorney costs to their base rates.

Unlike the House plan (HB 119), the Senate version does not place restrictions on certain attorney fees. The Senate plan, for example, does not cap fees or eliminate the multiplier, which allows attorneys to collect additional fees based on the complexity of the case.

The Senate plan also does not require that injured motorists seek treatment at a hospital emergency room within 72 hours of the crash, a provision also included in the House proposal. Instead, the Senate plan allows patients to continue to see their private physicians.

“We want to give people peace of mind that if they are involved in an accident they will get their legitimate treatment paid for,” Negron said.

Representatives from the business community and insurance companies say they want stricter regulations to curb attorney fees but chose not to speak Thursday against the Senate plan, which faces at least one more committee stop before reaching the Senate floor.

During debate, committee chairman Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, introduced a handful of amendments that would have placed fee restrictions on plaintiff lawyers and allowed insurance companies to put medical providers under oath. Both provisions have the support of business groups and insurance companies.

Though Richter withdrew the amendments, backers of tougher requirements said they will bring the issues up again before the bill reaches the floor.

“This is a priority for Florida because it is costing every driver in the state a lot of money,” Richter said. “How we try to solve it is controversial. Some want to go further. Others don’t want to go as far.”
By Michael Peltier

The Senate’s chief health-budget writer likely will propose $390 million in general-revenue cuts to health and human-services programs, though nursing homes and developmental-disability programs could be spared.

(Photo: CC - publik16)

Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said Thursday the Senate’s soon-to-be-released budget allocations — big-picture numbers showing how money will be divided among different parts of the budget — will not require as deep of health and human-services cuts as expected earlier. Negron had anticipated proposing $850 million in general-revenue cuts.

Negron, who is expected to release his budget plan next week, said he will not propose Medicaid rate reductions for nursing homes or cuts in Agency for Persons with Disabilities programs. He also said he wants cuts in hospital Medicaid rates to be a “last resort” — after the rates were cut about $510 million last spring.

But other programs could face major changes. Negron said his proposal will include significant savings from moving many Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in what is known as the “MediPass” program into HMOs or other managed-care plans.

The state considers MediPass as a form of managed care, at least in part because primary-care doctors provide case-management services to Medicaid beneficiaries. But unlike with HMOs, the state pays for treatment based on each service provided — a fee-for-service system that Republican leaders blame for higher Medicaid costs.

Negron’s proposal likely would eliminate MediPass in counties where there are at least two choices of Medicaid managed-care plans. Negron’s Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee received information in November that such a change could affect more than 400,000 beneficiaries in 31 counties and offers potential savings of $87 million a year.

The shift of MediPass beneficiaries also could be an interim step, as the state seeks federal approval to eventually move to a statewide Medicaid managed-care system. Nevertheless, such a shift likely would face opposition from advocacy groups who argue beneficiaries should not be forced into HMOs.

Negron’s budget proposal also is expected to call for cuts in substance-abuse and mental-health treatment programs for adults. Negron has long questioned whether such programs are a spending priority when the state is making cuts elsewhere in health and human services.

The $390 million in general-revenue cuts would result in many programs losing federal matching money, so the actual effects of the cuts would be deeper.

The allocation, however, would bring the Senate closer to the House’s overall level of proposed health- and human-services cuts, though it appears the chambers would need to resolve key differences. As examples, the House’s budget proposal calls for a 7 percent rate reduction for hospitals and would avoid cuts in mental-health and substance-abuse programs.

The proposed cuts stem from a budget shortfall that, by some estimates, is as much as $2 billion for the upcoming 2012-13 fiscal year. Republican leaders have chosen to make cuts, as opposed to looking for additional tax dollars to close the shortfall.

Also, health and human services programs could get squeezed in the budget because Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders want to increase spending on public schools.

Three Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, appeared with members of health-care and teachers unions during a news conference Thursday to call on Republicans to close corporate tax loopholes to bring in additional money.

Rich, D-Weston, argues that Republicans are pitting education against health care and said they offer a “false choice.”
By Jim Saunders

University of Central Florida - (Photo: CC: youngmoneymag)

Students attending one of Florida’s 11 state universities will collectively spend at least $54 million in additional tuition under a House plan unveiled Wednesday that calls for boosting tuition by at least 8 percent statewide.

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday rolled out its $69.2 billion spending plan that would allow university officials to tack on an additional 7 percent in differential tuition.

State college students would pay an additional $73 million under the 8 percent tuition hike.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott said he opposes any increase in student tuition.

This is a developing story.  Check back later for more. 

Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney

In a hard fought and decidedly negative campaign, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won a decisive victory to claim the Florida Republican primary. Romney won 46 percent of the vote while former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich garnered 32 percent to finish a distant second.

“A competitive primary does not divide us but prepares us and we will win,” an exuberant Romney told supporters and perhaps in answer to critics who charged he ran a dirtball campaign. But he also reminded what the November election was really about: defeating Barack Obama.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum picked up 13 percent of the votes cast, while Texas Congressman Ron Paul, with no campaign staff in Florida, claimed 7 percent. But if anyone expected that today’s outcomes might have winnowed the number of GOP contenders, that didn’t happen as Gingrich, Santorum and Paul all vowed to remain in the race.

Without conceding defeat, an almost defiant Gingrich told supporters that “It’s now clear this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader and the Massachusetts moderate,” referring to Romney, who 41 percent of Republican voters say, is not conservative enough.

In a speech which lacked focus, Gingrich suggested that he will be the Republican nominee to challenge President Obama in November.

“We are going to contest every place and we are going to win and we will be the nominee in Tampa in August,” he said.

Gingrich also said he planned to design a people’s campaign and that people power would defeat money power in the next six months.

Speaking from Las Vegas, Santorum decried the negative campaigning that had ensued in Florida and urged that the focus be placed on real issues, including jobs.

“Let’s focus on the real issue which is defeating Barack Obama,” he said. “We won’t do it by mud slinging.”

As he has indicated on previous occasions, Santorum said the GOP needs a candidate that can get up and draw a clear contrast with President Obama and he is that person. “Newt Gingrich had his chance and he became the issue instead,” he said.

But perhaps the winner of the Florida primary was Paul who appeared upbeat and ebullient as he too, thanked his supporters from Nevada, the next stop for the GOP caucus.  He told a group of excited supporters that he is looking forward to campaigning in the caucus states where he said it’s better, once you have an energized group.

Not surprisingly, Paul underscored his themes of smaller government and more personal liberty, as keys for getting the American economy moving again.

The Nevada GOP caucus will take place on February 4, 2012.

A federal appellate court on Tuesday upheld a 2010 constitutional amendment that attempts to ensure that congressional political districts are drawn fairly, rejecting an appeal backed by the Republican-led Florida Legislature.

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) Photo: WONO

In a 32-page ruling, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta rejected claims by U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican, and Corrine Brown, a Democrat, who challenged Amendment 6, one of the so-called “Fair Districts” amendments. The amendment requires lawmakers to draw congressional boundaries that do not favor any party or particular candidate.

The Florida Legislature had joined the two members of Congress in the fight, with House Speaker Dean Cannon choosing to appeal a September ruling by a federal district judge in Miami upholding the amendment, which was approved by 62.9 percent of voters in November 2010.

“The appellants claim that Amendment Six is unconstitutional because it was enacted by citizen initiative rather than by the state’s legislature in the ordinary “legislative process,” Judge Stanley Marcus wrote for the court. “…We are unpersuaded.”

The Republican House and Senate have opposed the requirement since it was put on the ballot in 2010 by grassroots group FairDistricts.org, along with another similar measure dealing with legislative districts, Amendment 5.

The Legislature also passed counter amendments to try to nullify the proposals before they even were approved, though those were ultimately struck down by the Florida Supreme Court.

Brown, D-Jacksonville and Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, filed the suit to scuttle Amendment 6. They argue it violates federal election law guaranteeing equal access for minority candidates. Some districts have essentially been gerrymandered to guarantee the election of a minority.

The Legislature joined in, arguing that the U.S. Constitution sets aside the task of redrawing the political boundaries for lawmakers, and that state voters can’t override that through the state’s constitution.

“All Amendment Six does is require the Legislature to account for some particular standards when conducting the complex task of drawing congressional district lines,” the federal appeals judges wrote. “States can and routinely do consider the very same factors when redistricting.”

Katherine Betta, spokeswoman for House Speaker Dean Cannon, said the speaker was reviewing the order.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said it really didn’t’ t matter that much now – because, he argued, lawmakers have abided by the requirement anyway. The process of redrawing the maps is pretty far along – the House and Senate are both nearing votes on their respective proposals.

“We followed Amendments 5 and 6 … we respected Amendments 5 and 6,” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said late Tuesday. “We were working under the assumption that 5 and 6 were constitutional.”

Democratic leaders applauded the ruling.

“The attempt by Florida Republicans to overturn the will of the people in the federal courts has been thoroughly and rightfully rejected,” Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith said in a statement following the opinion’s release. “It is time for the Republicans to stop wasting taxpayer dollars and start listening to the voters.”

While Brown, who is African-American, and Diaz-Balart, who is Hispanic, had argued that the voter approved standards would endanger districts drawn to help minorities achieve representation, not all minorities agreed.  Several Democrats in the Legislature, including a number of African-Americans, opposed the lawsuit.

Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, who is African-American, was one who applauded the ruling.

“U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus rightly affirmed the power of the people to amend their constitution,” said Joyner, who also was an intervenor in the case, defending the constitutionality of the amendment.   “Amendment 6 may not give incumbents the districts they want, but it gives the voters the right to set the standards to elect the Congressional representatives of their choice.”
By Michael Peltier

Months after its date became an issue and 10 days after it turned the state into the center of the political world, Florida’s presidential primary comes to a head today as voters go to the polls.

l-r: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul

And Republican leaders are saying that the contest could ultimately decide which one of the candidates wins the nomination — just what legislators wanted when they set up a committee last year that upended the GOP’s plans for a carefully orchestrated voting calendar.

As the candidates sprinted across the state Monday in their last chance to sway those voters who haven’t already cast a ballot, polls showed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney opening up a double-digit lead against former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who has all but ignored Florida in pursuit of later states, were even farther behind.

Romney used two strong debate performances and an onslaught of ads in Florida to try to counter Gingrich’s momentum after the speaker shook up the race by thumping Romney in South Carolina. By Monday, Gingrich supporters were already trying to downplay expectations for Gingrich, who vowed to press on no matter what happens today.

“If he has a respectable showing, I think he’s still a viable candidate,” said Sen. Thad Altman, a Melbourne Republican who supports Gingrich. “I think it’s important that he has a good showing here, but I don’t think he has to win.”

A respectable showing, Altman said, would be one that put the former speaker within 10 points of Romney — though Gingrich wasn’t out of the race for Florida even with the daunting margin, Altman said.

“If look you at the polls of the past primaries, Newt’s run stronger than the polls indicated and Romney ran a lot weaker,” he said.

Romney supporters were also looking to tamp down any emerging story lines that the onetime front-runner needed a big win in Florida after a long list of polls showed him putting ever more distance between himself and the rest of the pack.

“Any win is a win, okay?” said Sen. Steve Wise, a Republican from Jacksonville, a Romney stronghold.

Following a debate in Jacksonville Thursday night, in which Romney was seen as the winner, adviser Eric Fehrnstrom also tried to quiet talk that a win in Florida could prove to be a knockout punch for Romney, who has already won in New Hampshire and is the best-funded candidate in the race.

“The nomination process doesn’t end on the 31st of January,” he said. “It keeps going.”

Florida Republicans coming off a bruising battle to put the state in the limelight were eager to paint a different narrative. Last year, facing the prospect of sanctions from the national Republican Party for the Jan. 31 primary date, GOP lawmakers cobbled together a committee to establish the date of the presidential primary. The panel decided to go with Jan. 31 anyway.

That prompted the national party to strip Republicans of half of their delegates to the GOP convention, set to be held in Tampa.

“No one can argue that that has not concentrated extraordinary focus, emphasis and potentially … decisiveness in terms of the impact of Floridian voters’ voices,” said state House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park. Cannon has remained neutral since his first choice, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, dropped out of the race.

Lenny Curry, chairman of the state Republican Party, was more reserved.

“I’d rather that we didn’t lose half of our delegates, but this is where we are, and it is all about Florida,” he said. “So some will argue that it was worth it.”

By Brandon Larrabee

A proposal to prevent poor people from using federal assistance to buy certain snack foods was narrowly approved by a House committee Monday, but the sponsor said after heavy debate that he may change sections of the bill dictating what foods the aid can be used for.

Those restrictions weren’t removed Monday, but bill sponsor Rep. Scott Plakon acknowledged he may need to at least make some changes, following concerns from other House members about whether deciding what the poor can eat is fair game for the state to decide.

The bill (HB 1401) passed the House Health and Human Services Access Subcommittee 8-6. As it stands, the measure would prevent recipients of Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, money from buying sodas, cupcakes, ice cream, muffins, potato chips, pretzels and a number of other “unhealthy, non-staple” foods.

Plakon, R-Longwood, disagreed with those who said the measure represents an overreach.

“This is money being taken from one taxpayer, and out of compassion being given to another,” he said. “So I think it’s entirely reasonable for the Legislature to put restrictions.”

With the ban on certain food purchases drawing much of the debate on Monday, the bill in the House eventually will likely focus more on preventing the use of the food aid program’s electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards in Internet cafes.

Among those who voted for the bill Monday were Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, and Rep. Felix Jose Diaz, R-Miami – with whom Plakon said he’d be working to fix their concerns with the section on prohibited foods.

“I understand what drove him to file this bill, and it’s getting Internet cafes under control,” Young said. “But I don’t want people telling me what to eat and I don’t think it’s right for us as a government – even if they happen to be poor. Even if they happen to be on food stamps.”

An amendment by Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, would have made an exception for cake or cupcakes on a child’s birthday. But it was voted down, partly on Young’s argument that the entire food stamp section needed a revamp.

Among the problems opponents cited was that HB 1401 would ban use of EBT cards in retail establishments “licensed to sell malt, vinous or spirituous liquors.”

“To me, that looks like every grocery store or CVS or Walgreen’s in the state,” Young said.

“The intent is [banning the use of EBTs in] liquor stores,” Plakon responded.

Young said the bill would place “a considerable burden on our retail establishments.”

That was evidenced by the state associations that showed up Monday to oppose the bill – including the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Beverage Association.

“I suspect for the good parts to move forward, I’m going to have to make some substantive changes,” Plakon said after the meeting. “They clearly want the food stamp portion removed, and that may very well happen.”

The House bill has two more stops, the Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee and the Health and Human Services Committee.

A similar bill (SB 1658) is moving on the Senate side of the Capitol, sponsored by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico. Her focus, however, is what types of food can be bought with SNAP money, though last week she agreed to drop the term “unhealthy” from her bill, and it passed the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs. It now goes to the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations, its last stop.

By Margie Menzel

The House Redistricting Committee approved blueprints for Florida’s political future Friday, but not before taking aim at a set of amendments offered by a coalition of voting-rights groups including the League of Women Voters.

Measures redefining the boundaries for the Legislature (HJR 6001, 6011) and Florida’s 27 congressional seats (HB 6005) passed the panel on a series of party-line votes, bringing the House role in the once-a-decade redistricting process close to a conclusion.

But few think the process is likely to end with final House and Senate votes on the measures, expected by the end of next week. While Gov. Rick Scott seems likely to sign the congressional plan, the Florida Supreme Court must review the legislative plan — and both could be challenged under either the state’s new anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts amendments or the federal Civil Rights Act.

“At the end of the day, somebody’s going to sue,” said Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach.

Republicans said the maps represent a landmark in Florida politics as the first ones drawn under the new state standards, approved overwhelmingly by voters last November.

“There’s not an ounce of political intent in these maps,” said House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

On Friday, Democrats remained largely quiet, a continuation of their stance during a series of meetings on redistricting. The minority party never proposed their own maps — an acknowledgement, they said, of the realities of the process in the GOP-dominated chamber.

“This is 100 percent partisanship,” Jenne said after the maps were approved.

Without Democratic alternatives to tee off on, Republicans on the panel instead trained their fire on a proposal submitted earlier this week by the League of Women Voters, Latino advocacy group the National Council of La Raza, and Common Cause Florida.

The coalition of groups asked Weatherford to offer on their behalf an alternative plan that included the concept of “nesting” three districts for the 120-member House inside each district in the 40-seat Senate. While the groups declined an offer to testify in support of their maps, they sent an 11-page letter to Weatherford’s committee laying out the plan and blasting the Legislature’s efforts so far.

“The maps proposed by the House and Senate Redistricting Committees promise to perpetuate a system of one-party control in Florida in clear violation of the Florida Constitution,” the letter said.

Weatherford fired back at Friday’s meeting, castigating the groups for refusing to appear.

“I think the citizens of Florida deserve better than a … letter the night before the committee meets,” he said. “And I think the citizens of Florida deserve better than a map proposed to this committee two and a half days before we take a vote.”

House members also said the coalition’s proposals — which failed on unanimous votes — wouldn’t pass the compactness test laid out under the Fair Districts amendments.

“My three-year-old could draw something a little bit more compact than that,” said Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, about the organizations’ proposal for the Tampa Bay area.

Democrats joined the Republican members of the committee in shooting down the proposals, though Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said he was concerned by the tone of the comments toward the league and its allies.

“I certainly would never tell an organization that they act like a 3-year-old or use some of the words that I heard today,” Rouson said.

Ben Wilcox, who represents the League of Women Voters and attended Friday’s meeting, declined to comment afterward.

Jenne, meanwhile, suggested that the treatment of the coalition’s proposals vindicated Democrats’ decision to pass on offering their own redistricting alternatives.

“We submit our own maps, everything that was said about the League of Women Voters would have been said about all of us sitting down at the end there,” he said.

By Brandon Larrabee

Rivals spent the 19th debate of the Republican primary cycle — and the final before Floridians head to the polls Tuesday — whaling on former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich in an attempt to finish off his post-South Carolina momentum.

Gingrich’s standing was already tottering in the latest batch of Florida polls after he rode a win in the Palmetto State to front-runner status. On Thursday night’s CNN debate, held at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Gingrich came under fire from all sides.

Even as the other candidates — former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, still favored by many observers to win the GOP nomination; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; and Congressman Ron Paul — looked to knock Gingrich off his perch for national reasons, the debate had a Florida flair. Questions about space, immigration and Latin America and Cuba all played a role, as did the housing crisis that has hit Florida as hard as almost any other state in the nation.

Romney was more aggressive than usual — former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, who has endorsed Gingrich, conceded that Romney was “feisty” — as he sought to wrap up a state critical to his hopes of winning what has essentially been a five-year campaign for the presidency.

Supporters quickly crowed over what they called one of Romney’s finest debates.

“I thought tonight was the closing argument for Mitt Romney,” said Florida House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. “I thought that he spoke with a passion and a conviction unlike, frankly, I’ve ever seen in a debate.”

Even Gingrich’s supporters were faint in their praise of the speaker.

“I don’t think it hurt him,” said former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. “I’m not so sure he had a home run here tonight to hit.”

But McCollum also questioned whether some of Gingrich’s opponents might have misplayed their hands, particularly in their criticisms of the former speaker’s ambitious plans for space exploration, a key industry in the state.

“Most of Florida really cares a lot about that program, and the nation should care about it,” McCollum said.

Gingrich began the night on defense on the issue of immigration, as Romney used an ad that labeled the former governor as “anti-immigrant” — based on his comments about illegal immigration — to tee off on his main rival.

“My father was born in Mexico,” Romney fumed at one point. “My wife’s father was born in Wales. … The idea that I’m anti-immigrant is repulsive.”

Gingrich countered Romney’s outrage with what he said was the difference between them — that Gingrich doesn’t favor deporting “grandmothers” who might be illegal immigrants but had spent years in the country.

“I am prepared to be very tough and very bold, but I’m also prepared to be realistic,” Gingrich said.

That brought a quip from Romney referencing the number of illegal immigrants: “Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers.”

The candidates also clashed on Gingrich’s plan for a moon colony. Rivals said the plan was a budget-busting pander to Floridians at a time when most Republicans are concerned with slicing the nation’s budget deficit.

“And you can’t do that by grand schemes. … Those are things that sound good and maybe make big promises to people, but we’ve got to be responsible in the way we allocate our resources,” Santorum said.

Gingrich said his plan would focus heavily on incentives for the private sector and could work with in a restrained budget by finding cuts elsewhere.

“You don’t just have to be cheap everywhere,” he said. “You can actually have priorities to get things done.”

At times, Gingrich tried to launch attacks, responding to Romney’s repeated references to his work with government-backed mortgage giant Freddie Mac by pointing out that Romney had invested in Freddie Mac, sister organization Fannie Mae and banks involved in foreclosures in Florida.

“So maybe Governor Romney in the spirit of openness should tell us how much money he’s made off of how many households that have been foreclosed by his investments?” Gingrich said.

But Romney forced Gingrich to concede that some of the speaker’s mutual funds were also invested in Freddie and Fannie.

Romney did not come out of the debate unscathed. Santorum used one section of the debate to hammer away at Romney on his signature health-care plan, similar to President Obama’s program — which is anathema to conservatives.

“We can’t give this issue away in this election,” Santorum pleaded. “It is about fundamental freedom.”

Paul spent much of the night blending contrarian answers with humor. Asked what he would do if Raul Castro — a bête noir for many of Florida’s Cubans — called the White House, Paul responded: “I’d ask him what he called about.”

He also took a far more conciliatory position to Cuba than many older Cuban-Americans in Miami would be comfortable with.

“Not to talk to them and take the call and see what you can work out helps Castro,” he said. “It hurts the people, the dissidents, the people who want to overthrow him have always had to be nationalistic and unified behind the leader.”

By Brandon Larrabee

With poll results showing each of them surging at different points of the week and with the enormous stakes of Tuesday’s Florida presidential primary, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney face different challenges as each takes the stage for tonight’s debate in Jacksonville.

l-r: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul

For Gingrich, the challenge is to try to keep his momentum going after soundly beating Romney in last week’s South Carolina primary and reviving his once-faint hopes of winning the nomination.

For Romney, the debate is a chance to reverse days of negative headlines, from reports that he actually lost the Iowa caucuses to former Sen. Rick Santorum — who originally came in second by eight votes — to his faltering answers on releasing his tax returns, something Romney finally did earlier this week.

Santorum and Congressman Ron Paul, meanwhile, face the prospect of trying to secure more attention for their long-shot bids in a room expected to be dominated by the showdown between Romney and Gingrich.

In between all of that, the candidates might also have to deal with situations unique to Florida — a housing market roiled by the foreclosure crisis, Cuban immigrants that make up a sizable chunk of the Republican base and the large number of older Floridians that call the state home.

The state’s AARP branch is already arguing that the neither of the Republican campaigns nor President Obama has focused enough on Social Security or Medicare.

“We’re pleased that candidates are talking to Floridians 50-plus,” Jeff Johnson, AARP Florida interim state director said in a statement issued Wednesday. “Now let’s hear them say something — something specific — about how their plans would affect real Floridians.”

Polls suggest Gingrich and Romney are far ahead of the other candidates but neck-and-neck with each other. A recent poll by Quinnipiac University showed Gingrich surging coming out of South Carolina, while a CNN/Time/ORC International Poll showed Romney regaining his edge by the time Tuesday rolled around.

Romney performed well in Florida in 2008 — getting 31 percent of the vote but losing to U.S. Sen. John McCain — and was expected to be a formidable candidate in the Sunshine State because of a sizable fundraising advantage.

“This should be a strong state for Romney,” said Matthew Corrigan, a political science professor at the University of North Florida, where Tuesday night’s debate will be held. “If Romney lost this state, it would be a big blow to him.”

To rebound, Romney needs to “be bold,” said state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, perhaps the highest-profile legislator to endorse Romney early in the cycle.

“I think ultimately people are going to decide on the basis that they want a person that they can believe could beat Barack Obama,” Thrasher said.

Corrigan said Romney should also try to flip the argument on Gingrich, who has taken a beating from Romney and his surrogates. Romney’s campaign has suggested that Gingrich is erratic, has a chaotic leadership style and engaged in influence-peddling after leaving the speakership in “disgrace.”

“I think his strongest argument is that Gingrich is not electable,” Corrigan said.

Gingrich, meanwhile, will look to shine in tonight’s forum after a lackluster performance Monday.

The former House speaker has used debates to propel himself in the polls in earlier states.

Several observers blamed NBC’s stern instructions to the crowd not to applaud the candidates for Monday’s poor showing; Gingrich seemed to feed off the audience in earlier debates. The former speaker threatened to pull out of future debates if the crowds were quieted, but CNN has said those in attendance will be allowed to clap this evening.

“Gingrich has to do his best to please the crowed and recapture the lightning he had in South Carolina,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist in Florida who is not affiliated with any campaign.

For Santorum, who was unable to ride his Iowa win to lasting success, and Paul, the mission of simply remaining a factor in the race is a tall order. Paul’s dovish foreign-policy views alienate large swaths of the GOP electorate, and he has all but conceded Florida to focus on later caucus states.

“I stopped paying attention to Ron Paul, except to mock him, months ago,” Wilson said.

Gingrich’s surge in the Quinnipiac University poll appeared to show him gaining strength after the South Carolina results were announced, largely at Paul and Santorum’s expense. While the larger margin of error for the subgroups was enough to raise some questions about how real that change was, it could suggest a coalescing of conservative support that some movement conservatives have hoped for in order to stop Romney.

John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, said conservative’s choices are essentially down to Gingrich and Santorum.

“They’re not looking at Romney,” he said. “That’s clear to me.”

Stemberger — who supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry before his implosion — was among a group of social conservative leaders who recently endorsed Santorum in the hopes that he could consolidate the right. Stemberger now worries that the group’s support “was unfortunately a little too late in the game to affect South Carolina or Florida.”

And the biggest game-changer left on the board — tonight’s debate — could further strengthen Gingrich.

“Let’s face it: While he’s not my candidate, Newt Gingrich is just a master communicator,” Stemberger said.

Whether that’s enough to overcome Romney’s advantage in ads and organization is a question that won’t be answered until Tuesday. And the results are almost certain to reverberate long after the candidates have left Florida.

By Brandon Larrabee