An appeals court Tuesday ruled against Attorney General Pam Bondi in a long-running battle about the Legislature's attempt last year to privatize prisons across southern Florida.

The 1st District Court of Appeal rejected Bondi's appeal of a circuit-court ruling that blocked the privatization plan from going forward. A three-judge panel ruled against Bondi on a procedural issue -- saying she did not have the authority to file the appeal after the original state party in the case, the Department of Corrections, declined to do so.

Florida lawmakers are fond of passing resolutions that mean relatively little. So here's an idea for a new resolution: Declare mid-July as "Dog Days in Tallahassee."

But while the capital saunters through humidity and swarms of mosquitoes, campaign action is picking up in legislative races across the state. Redistricting and the exodus of longtime lawmakers have helped create a collection of marquee election battles.

In a move aimed at getting doctors to treat more low-income patients, the federal health overhaul likely will lead to increased Medicaid payments to Florida primary-care physicians.

The federal Affordable Care Act, which was largely upheld last month by the U.S. Supreme Court, requires higher Medicaid payments to primary-care physicians in 2013 and 2014. Florida Republican lawmakers had not started moving forward with the higher payments because of their broader opposition to the Act, which they deride as "Obamacare."

Less than a month into his new job as head of the bloated Citizens Property Insurance Corp., longtime insurance industry executive Barry Gilway said his expectations to reduce the size of the state-backed provider remain his most challenging endeavor.

In a meeting with the Tallahassee media on Wednesday, Gilway said its still too early to offer specifics for Citizens -- but he did elaborate on some of the company's greatest opportunities and challenges.

With a prison-privatization plan all but dead, an appeals court Wednesday appeared hesitant to decide a constitutional fight about whether lawmakers improperly used the state budget to approve the plan.

Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to hold down costs for Florida families. University presidents and trustees say they need more money to maintain quality on their campuses.

And caught in the middle this week were members of the state Board of Governors, which had to approve tuition increases at 11 universities. The board, meeting in Orlando, ultimately approved a mixture of increases that failed to satisfy Scott or many of the presidents.

In courthouses across Florida, shelves are lined with bulging files of legal documents.

But changes released Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court may lead to paper court files going the way of phone books and faxes in the increasingly e-world.

Justices unanimously approved rule changes that will require almost all court documents to be filed electronically. The changes, which have been extensively studied by Florida Bar rules committees and other groups, will gradually take effect by the end of 2013.

In the latest skirmish in a legal battle about taxes paid by online-travel companies, a Leon County circuit judge heard arguments Wednesday about email exchanges involving a lobbyist for industry giant Expedia.

Attorneys for Broward County,alleging in a lawsuit that online-travel companies have not paid enough in hotel taxes, want access to the email exchanges involving lobbyist Jennifer Green. Broward is trying to bolster claims that Expedia has long known that it should pay the disputed tax amounts.

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide this week whether to hear a challenge to a 2006 Florida law that blocks funding for university professors to travel to Cuba or other countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism.

The Florida International University faculty senate and individual professors challenged the law, contending that it improperly infringes on the federal government's power to make decisions about foreign policy.