Here's an update on the situation with Democratic State Sen. Rosalind Kurita, who cast the deciding vote for Republican State Sen. Ron Ramsey for Speaker and Lt. Governor, and State Sen. Mike Williams, who recently jumped the GOP ship to become an independent after also voting for Ramsey.

Senate Democrats passed a resolution welcoming Williams to caucus with them without requiring him to declare himself a Democrat, and recognizing every member's duty to vote their conscience based on the merits of the issues instead of partisan considerations.

Republicans weren't so magnanimous. Apparently, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey tried to have Williams removed from the Senate Education Committee, asking Sen. Randy McNally to take his place. According to a source, McNally refused because a) Ramsey wanted him to vote against the Governor's education proposals, and b) removing Williams from a committee would be bad PR for Ramsey.

On a related note, Ramsey named Kurita Senate speaker pro tem in return for her vote, and bonus, she got an expanded office out of the deal -- an expansion that annexed most of Sen. Williams' office space.

Williams was moved to a different building, but not without a parting shot. Yesterday, he introduced a proposal that would require 30 days public notice for all legislative office space construction plans and approval by the state architect and building commission. (Williams says the idea originally came from Republican Caucus chair Sen. Diane Black.)

Sources also tell us that Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Paul Stanley, have been courting Kurita to switch sides and join the GOP. She hasn't yet of course -- I think we would have heard about that -- but she is said to be doing some PR work with Ramsey's deputy chief of staff Lance Frizzell.