Florida lawmakers are set to arrive in Tallahassee later this month to address issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that has sent oil toward Florida beaches, but lawmakers in other states have already beaten them to the punch.

Louisiana, North Carolina, New Jersey and South Carolina have all introduced bills relating to oil spill cleanup plans, recovery for damages and moratoria on offshore drilling. But really, it's anyone's best guess what will happen when the Florida House and Senate return to Tallahassee July 20.

When Charlie Crist appeared on a Pensacola beach with President Barack Obama last month, there was no hug. Yet the widely publicized photo op didn't mean Floridians were embracing their "independent" governor, either.

Conventional wisdom in the media suggests that Crist has raised his profile, and his popularity, amid the oily mess spewing in the Gulf. Recent polls showing him retaking the lead in the U.S. Senate race point to the governor's role in protecting Florida's shores. A cartoon in the Miami Herald even showed him walking on water while a marooned Marco Rubio looks on.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wants consumers to know that seafood from the Sunshine State remains safe and untainted by the oil spill. And the message comes just ahead of tens of thousands of Independence Day cookouts in the state.

To get the message out, the department launched a new commercial to back Florida's commercial fishermen and its advertising partnership with major grocery chains.

DEMS, GOP SPAR ON PROSECUTOR FITNESS