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Opposition to Florida�s controversial new election law continues to grow. Former Republican State Senator Nancy Argenziano filed her own lawsuit today, saying the new law takes away her right to run for congress as a Democrat. As Whitney Ray tells us, the law requires politicians to change their registration 17 months before the General Election.

Less than seven months before the 2010 General Election, Governor Charlie Crist left the Republican Party to run for Senate as an Independent.

By switching parties Crist avoided a primary against GOP favorite Marco Rubio. Crist ultimately lost, but his move to avoid the difficult primary, ticked off Republican lawmakers so much they changed the law.

Before this year candidates in Florida could change their party affiliation six months before the General Election. But in a 71 page bill, passed last session, the deadline to switch was moved to 17 months.

Caught in the mix is former Republican State Senator Nancy Argenziano. She wants to run for Congress as a Democrat, but it�s already too late. Friday she filed a lawsuit against the secretary of state, claiming the new law violates her rights.

�It�s a constitutional right that I believe I have, as well as you have and as well as the next guy,� said Argenziano.

Her predicament could have been avoided. In May of last year, Argenziano registered with the Independent Party, thinking she was registering with no party affiliation. If she were an NPA, switching wouldn�t be a problem.

�So what I decided to do, which I though was my right, is I would move to the Independent Party as a place holder,� said Argenziano.

The party switching provision is just one of 80 election law changes made by the legislature. And once it passed, candidates were given just two weeks to decide which party is theirs.

The provision is one of 76 in the new law already been cleared by the Department of Justice.

The nation�s most popular fake news cast, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, has spent the last two days in Tallahassee taking government officials to task for efforts to drug test state employees or welfare recipients. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, both Governor Rick Scott and Attorney general Pam Bondi are soon going to be the subject of a nationwide comedy sketch over drug testing efforts.

Rick Scott was in the middle of answering questions about his 66 billion dollar budget when someone stood up in the back row with an unusual request.

�So, would you be willing, to uh, pee into this cup to prove to Florida taxpayers that you�re not on drugs?� he asked.

Scott seemed un-phased.

�I�ve done it plenty of times,” the Governor replied.

And even appeared to be willing to accept the cup.

�Sure.�

The questioner was no Capitol Press Corps regular, but Daily Show Correspondent Aasif Mandvi. The segment has yet to air, but this was not the first time the fake news program has poked at Scott.

The program poked fun at Scott’s attempts to test both state employees and welfare recipients.

Legal actions have put both drug testing schemes on hold.

�How do we know its you urine? How do we know its not just apple juice?” Mandvi asked.

The crew also confronted Attorney General Pam Bondi…who played along and gave them a fake sample.

�It’s apple juice,” she said.

The crew also confronted Attorney Pam Bondi, suggesting she had given them a bogus sample.

Scott says he didn�t know the questions were coming

�You know, what doesn�t make sense to me is that people aren�t worried about these poor children. that�s where the money is supposed to go,” Scott said. “Its not supposed to go to a parent that�s using drugs.�

An estimated two and a half million people watch the fake news show each night.

The Crew did convince several state lawmakers to give them urine samples, presumably not on camera, though.

Opponents of expanded gaming are getting a big boost tonight. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam are joining their fight. As Whitney Ray tells us, General Bondi and Commissioner Putnam says if the state opens the doors to mega casinos an increase in violent crime will follow.

Surrounded by law enforcement officers and business interests, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam plunged into the casino battle.

�This is an insidious threat,� said Putnam.

�We need less gaming, not more,� said Bondi.

General Bondi spent weeks talking to police and prosecutors, and believes if Florida expands gambling, then violent crime will follow. Bondi says gangs are already using the Hard Rock Caf� Casino in Tampa to cover their tracks.

�This is a prime way to launder money,� said Bondi.

Earlier this week several construction and business groups came out in favor of the plans to bring three resort casinos to South Florida.

While politicians and organizations continue to line up on each side of the gaming issue, some state senators are holding out to see what they can get in exchange for a yes vote.

At a Senate Committee meeting, lawmakers discussed loading the bill with new games for parimutuals, a forth resort in Tampa Bay and regulations on internet cafes. Before the bill is ready for a vote a lot of concessions will have to be made. The bill�s sponsors say their legislation would actually rein in gaming because it sets up a regulatory department. But both Bondi and Putnam argue that lawmakers could regulate the industry without the three new resort casinos.

Civil liberty groups are asking the president to veto a bill they say would end of our free society. The National Defense Authorization Act has already passed the US House and Senate.

If the president signs it, soldiers could arrest US citizens; throw them in military prisons with no trial and no attorney. In many cases they would never have to let them out. Julie Ebenstein a spokeswoman for the ACLU says with his signature, President Barak Obama could eliminate due process and the right to a trial laid out in the constitution.

�One of the basic principles of our society is that people can not be arrested and detained without charges and held indefinitely. Once people lose the ability to challenge that activity on part of the government we are no longer living in a free society,� said Ebenstein.

Both of Florida�s US Senators, Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, voted in favor of the bill. It�s tied to military funding and supporters argue the military needs more power to protect the country from terrorists.

Eighty-six Fs and five Ds� those are the grades being given to state lawmakers who voted for insurance bills last session.

Today Florida Policyholders released its first report card grading lawmakers. Not every lawmaker ended up in the Policyholders� principal�s office� the consumer advocacy group awarded two lawmakers with awards. The groups founder, Sean Shaw says the fight continues.

�We are starting to see these very anti-consumer bills that are somehow called pro-consumer. I don�t understand how a bill that allows people to be sucked in to a unregulated company is pro-consumer,� said Shaw.

Republican Senator Mike Fasano and Democratic House Member Evan Jenne were the two lawmaker honored today. Members who received failing grades say the bills they voted for will bring more competition into the state�s insurance market and in the long run that�s better for consumers.

Law enforcement officers trying to stop PIP or Personal Injury Protection fraud have more work than they can handle. They�re asking state lawmakers for help. As Whitney Ray tells us, undercover officers were at the state capitol telling lawmakers what needs to be done to stop PIP fraud.

Masked men were in the state capitol today concealing their identities because they investigate the fastest growing insurance fraud in the state.

These sheriff�s detectives have been undercover investigating how criminals abuse personal injury protection or PIP insurance to steal millions of dollars

PIP is mandatory for all Florida drivers. It pays up to 10-thousand dollars in medical costs from auto accidents regardless of who is at fault. Criminals know this and stage wrecks to get big payouts.

�In my participations I�ve been both. I�ve been either the driver of the struck vehicles, the driver of the striking vehicle or I have been the passenger,� said Jose Morales, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff�s Office.

Detective Jose Morales infiltrated a ring of PIP fraudsters and participated in the staged wrecks and false medical bills that followed.

�The clinic will get 10-thousand dollars from my insurance for the service,� said Morales.

The detectives say there are entire medical clinics dedicated to ripping off insurance companies. They are called PIP mills. Detectives say the only way to shut them down is to pass stricter regulations on doctors who own clinics.

�There names are not even on the bank accounts. How can you own a clinic and not have your name on the bank account,� said Detective Ronnie Cooper.

Insurance companies paid out 2.7 billion dollars in PIP claims last year. That�s up 900 million dollars from a year ago. State leaders have vowed to fix the problem in next year�s legislative session. The detectives also say that some of the fraudsters stage anywhere from eight to 14 accidents per year, since the $10,000 payout is per incident.

Governor Rick Scott today proposed spending about one hundred dollars a year more per student and paying for it by closing prisons and slicing benefits for medicaid recipients. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, even with the additional school funding, schools will still have less than before Rick Scott took office.

Governor Rick Scott says he has been listening to Floridians and they�ve been telling�him they want more money spent on schools. He�s proposing a billion more. That works out to just about a hundred dollars a year more per student.

�I will not sign the budget if it does no significantly increase the funding for education,” Scott said. � “Now, I know this will require difficult choices.�

With the crime rate at a 40 year low, Scott would pay for the additional school stipend by closing several prisons, and drastically limiting how much the state will pay hospitalsfor treating the poor.

�Medicaid growth is at 180 percent,” Scott said. “General revenue growth is 30. You can�t do that.�

Scott is asking every agency of government to trim their belts by four percent. And the state would shed 1700 vacant, and 2800 jobs that are filled. Some health insurance benefits would cost more. Scott says funding for Universities will remain flat.

�With level funding of the universities, they shouldn�t be increasing tuition,” Scott said.

Even if Rick Scott gets everything he wants for education, Florida�s schools will still be 300 million dollars shy of where they were when he took office.

Advocates for children like the increase for schools, but still worry.

�Is he making the same investments in the child�s life outside the classroom?� Roy Miller with the Children’s Campaign said.

State lawmakers have the final say on spending.

Scott is sending an early signal that he wants the cash for schools or lawmakers may find themselves in overtime.

FAMU students will be asked to sign a pledge tonight to end hazing. The pledge is part of a mandatory meeting scheduled for 6:30, to address a culture of hazing that may have lead to the death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion. As Whitney Ray tells us, students willing to speak on camera today think this forum will make a difference and could help change campus culture.

Since the death of FAMU Drum Major Robert Champion, students have noticed a change on campus.

�There is a weird vibe to FAMU, and I felt it. I talked to other students and they felt the same way. The vibe has definitely changed,� said FAMU Junior Jamie Shute.

�It�s sad and FAMU has a lot on its plate right now,� said Carl Pierre.

The band director has been fired and four students have been suspended while police continue to investigate what role hazing played in Champion�s death.

Many students are keeping their lips closed about hazing. This sophomore, agreed to be interviewed then walked away in the middle of our first question.

�I�ll be right back.�

A mandatory forum was called by FAMU�s Student Government for Monday night.

This is where the anti-hazing forum will be held, but there aren�t enough seats in the stadium for every FAMU student, so the student government is asking for at least one member of ever on campus organization to attend.

Governor Rick Scott didn�t give a direct answer when we asked if he is satisfied with the actions the school is taking.

�I�ve had kids go off to college and I expect them to come back, alive with an education where they can go get a job. I don�t expect something like this to happen,� said Scott.

The student government association can�t punish students who don�t go, but there will be sanctions on organization that don�t send at least one member. Tune in at 11:00 for a full report on tonight�s anti-hazing forum.

BP could be fined billions of dollars for the 2010 oil spill that hurt gulf coast businesses. Tonight there�s friction over how that money should be spent. A Congressional Hearing on the Restore Act is scheduled for Wednesday. The act would require 80 cents of every dollar to be spent restoring the coast. Jackie Roberts with the Environmental Defense Fund says spending the money on gulf coast restoration would create jobs in Florida.

�It�s BP penalties that will actually be reinvested in ecosystem restoration in the region. There are about 60 firms in Florida. Places like Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee that are involved in this industry,� said Jackie Roberts.

The fines are expected to bring in between five and 21 billion dollars. Some members of congress want to use the money to pay off debt. But supporters of gulf coast restoration point to a new Duke University study that says ever million dollars spent on restoration would create 20 jobs.

Florida law on drug possession is on trial tomorrow at the Florida Supreme Court. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the case is on an extraordinarily fast track in the state judicial system and the outcome of dozens of cases is at stake.

21-year-old Luke Atkins was threatening suicide on June 11th of this year. His mother called police. Deputies disarmed the youth, then found a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. Adkins has become the unlikely poster child for a court case on the fast track.

At issue is a 2002 Florida law that says being in possession of drugs is a crime, whether you knew you had the drugs or not. Legal scholars say the law ignores basic constitutional rights.

�The person could be arrested, prosecuted, and put in jail for the rest of their life for believing they were doing a friend a favor,� Randal Marshall with the Florida ACLU said.

The legal term in the case is mens rea…or evil mind. The legal principle says you must have intended to violate the law. All 20 of the state�s prosecutors, including 26 year veteran Willie Meggs, are fighting to keep the law, less intent, on the books.

�Well certainly if you have in your sock or in your trouser pocket contraband, to wit, drugs, then you know you have those things there, so knowledge will be inferred,” Meggs said.

More than 40 criminal cases are gone if the Florida Supreme Court says the law is unconstitutional.

Meggs says in 26 years, he�s never prosecuted someone who lacked the intent to commit a crime. But lawyers fighting the law say depending on the government�s good will isn�t enough when basic constitutional rights are at stake.

The importance of the case is evident in the time line. Arrested in mid June, Adkins case was thrown out of court in September. Three months later it is before the states highest court.

Frustrated with the job hunt, and the lack of career opportunities, more Floridians are opening their own businesses. The fastest growing startup businesses in Florida are food trucks. As Whitney Ray tells us, the industry grew by 10 percent last year.

Red velvet waffles and fried chicken are a winning combination for these FAMU graduates turned entrepreneurs. But this is no ordinary kitchen and they aren’t ordinary cooks.

“I have a degree in public relations and a masters in marketing,” said Kianta Key.

“I�m in the Army so after I graduated I went to engineering school,� said Jonathan Sellers.

The idea for the Cravings Food truck was born at the height of the recession after Kianta Key and Jonathan Sellers finished their degrees and were job hunting.

“I graduated in 2009, it was kind of like the zenith of the recession,” said Key.

“Sometimes the most innovative ideas come up when there are no options left,� said Sellers.

They scraped together money Jonathan saved for a house and raided Kianta’s graduate school fund. And now 15 months into their business venture, they’ve created a band of loyal followers. This crowd gathered long before they opened the serving window on the truck.”

Cravings is just one of a growing number of food truck businesses in Florida. There are about 3-thousand statewide, up 10 percent from a year ago. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation is tracking the surge in licensing applications.

“Although we want these businesses to develop we want to make sure they play by the rules and know the rules,� said DBPR Secretary Ken Lawson.

Business has grown so much that, next Friday, food trucks from around the state will drive to Tallahassee to participate in Florida�s first ever Mobile Food Vendor Fair. Mobile food vendors now make up six percent of all the Food Service Licenses issued by DBPR. The department is required to check the safety and sanitation of the trucks before issuing their owner a license.

A national leader in the Missionary Baptist Church is calling for a national task force to end hazing at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The call comes two weeks after the hazing related death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Governor Rick Scott, when asked, did not offer support to FAMU President James Ammons.

Paster O. Jermaine Simmons confides that he was hazed a dozen years ago because he was not strong enough to resist.

�Not one time did I call home and say, Daddy, they�re hazing me,” Simmons said/ “Because I wanted to fit in! There�s a negative stigma, unfortunately, on individuals who were not hazed, who were not initiated the �right� way.�

Now, Simmons and other Black Pastors say they must reach the young in their congregations to give them the strength to say no.

�Our people understand that hazing must stop, and it must stop now and forever,” Rev. R.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Church, said.

Historically Black College Presidents from Georgia, South Carolina, Jacksonville and Miami will work to unveil an anti hazing educational plan by Martin Luther King�s birthday in January.

At the state capitol, Governor Rick Scott says he is anxious to hear from the Florida Board of Governors about anti hazing plans across the state.

�No one anticipates going off, sending their child off to school and having any pressure like this,” Scott said.

But when asked if he supported the efforts for FAMU President James Ammons in the wake of Drum Major Robert Champion�s death, Scott declined to answer.

FAMU Trustees meet for the first time since the drum major�s death next week in Orlando. But nowhere in this lengthy agenda is there a mention of Robert Champion.

The board has a closed door session with attorneys where the case could come up. Robert Champion�s death could also be discussed during a report by the University President.

FAMU students are being called to a mandatory meeting Monday evening to talk about the hazing death. They will be urged to sign anti hazing pledges.

“Drive sober or get pulled over� is the motto of Florida law enforcement this holiday season. The Highway Patrol said at a news conference today it will hold DUI checkpoints and have roving teams of officers looking for drunk drivers. Also at the news conference was Tracey Chance, whose sister Kelley was killed earlier this year by a drunk driver. Chance says no one has a right to drive under the influence.

“As individuals, we need to look deep inside ourselves, at our values and morals, and really put them to work when we choose to drink,” Chance said “We have to say, my life and someone else’s life is too valuable to take a chance.”

The FHP says one in three deaths is a result of drunk or drugged driving. During the 2010 holiday season, 56 people died on Florida roads, 20 of which were drug or alcohol related.

Florida escaped another hurricane season unscathed. The 2011 season ended at midnight last night, marking six consecutive hurricane free years in Florida. So property insurance rates should be dropping� right? Wrong!!! As Whitney Ray tells us, not only are rates rising, but policyholders are still paying for the damage from the 2004, 2005 hurricane seasons.

In 2004 and 2005, eight hurricanes ripped through Florida causing more than 55 billion dollars in damage.

Stephanie Wilson was in her late teens and living in Tallahassee when the chaos began.

�A lot of like trees and debris were on some of the back roads. Not the main roads,� said Wilson.

Tallahassee was spared and so was Stephanie�s family and home. But now, six years later, she�s paying for the damage.

�I don�t think it�s fair,� said Wilson.

Because Citizens Property Insurance didn�t have enough money to cover its losses, so the state ordered emergency assessments on all policyholders. Stephanie pays about 10 bucks a year in assessments on her car policy.

The average assessment on a policy for a 150-thousand dollar house runs between 20 and 30 dollars a year. The payments are due through 2017, but they could get higher if another storm hits.

A category four or five in a large city could raise assessments to 450 dollars a year. To avoid that scenario insurance experts say drastic changes to Citizens have to be made.

�We have to get our policymakers to make the hard choices and change the laws, otherwise it�s just a ticking time bomb and it�s going to blow up eventually,� said NAIFA Spokesman Bob Lotane.

Plans to shed 75-hundred of Citizens most expensive policies are in the works, but it may not be enough to significantly lower the risk to all Florida policyholders. The governor and state cabinet will hear the plans to drop the most expensive Citizens policies at next Tuesday�s cabinet meeting. Citizens denied our request for an interview to discuss the proposed changes.

A group of environmentalists is suing the state and asking everyone else to take a slime tour.

Earthjustice filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection today claiming not enough is being done to protect waterways. Part of their evidence can be found online through an interactive map the group is calling a slime tour. The map shows pictures of green rivers throughout the state. David Guest, the group�s attorney says the pictures help tell the story.

�Functionally what you have here is, we have toxic slime outbreaks and green colored water all over the state,� said Guest.

The slime tour can be found at http://goo.gl/N7kVI.