The "Florida Standards" may have been unanimously approved by the State Board of Education last week, but that didn't stop Sen. Greg Evers, R-Pensacola, from filing a bill in the Florida Senate to stop the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Florida TaxWatch released a report on Thursday in support of efforts to reform the state governments information technology (IT) and bring it under a CIO. Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, are supporting legislation to do exactly that. In 2012, the Center for Digital Government gave the Florida state government the lowest marks in the nation for its IT structure.

Nadine Smith, the CEO of Equality Florida which supports overturning the state constitutional amendment which defines marriage in the Sunshine State as only between a man and woman, praised Gov. Rick Scott and his rivals for saying Gov. Jan Brewer, R-Ariz., should have veoted legislation in Arizona that allows business owners to refuse to do business with gays citing religious reasons. The bill passed both chambers of the Arizona Legislature but was vetoed by Brewer on Wednesday.

After dodging a question on Arizona's proposed anti-LGBT bill, Gov. Rick Scott says he'd veto the bill if it came to the Sunshine State. "I dont want to tell Gov. Brewer what to do, she can do whats best for her state. From my understanding of that bill, I would veto it in Florida because it seems unnecessary," Scott said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist spoke out against a proposed law in Arizona which wouldamend the existing Religious Freedom Restoration Act, allowing business owners to deny service to gay and lesbian customers so long as the business owners were acting solely on their religious beliefs. "Discrimination has no place in America," said Crist. "None in Arizona. None inFlorida. For Gov. Brewer, this should be the ultimate no-brainer.Veto the law."

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., testified before the House Judiciary Committee on his Faithful Execution of the Law Act which would require federal officials to report to Congress when they decide not to enforce a law.

Maggies List, a PAC looking to elect conservative women to Congress, announced on Wednesday it was backing Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, in the special election for the congressional seat opened when former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to cocaine possession. "I am honored to receive the endorsement from Maggie's List, Benacquisto said. Electing more conservative women to Congress who believe in a smaller government, individual liberty, and national security is of utmost importance."

Gov. Rick Scotts team released a Web video on Wednesday in which he weighs in on the Venezuelan regimes crackdown on protesters who want democratic reforms.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe it's not the government's job to monitor the content of its news organizations in the United States, according to a new poll released Wednesday. In the face of a public backlash, the Federal Communications Commission has backed off a plan to determine if the news media are meeting the publics critical information needs.

Republicans continue to pummel former state CFO Alex Sink for comments she made about immigrants at a candidate forum on Tuesday. Sink is the Democratic nominee in the special congressional election. Shell take on Republican David Jolly and Libertarian Lucas Overby on March 11.

Gov. Rick Scott announced on Wednesday morning that business tech-support company ConnectWise will expand its headquarters in Hillsborough County, investing more than $1.25 million and creating 112 jobs over the next two years. The company is based in Tampa and employs more than 330 residents of the Tampa Bay area.

Trying to catch former Gov. Charlie Crist in the battle for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, former state Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich ramped up her opposition to Floridas Stand Your Ground law this week. Despite Crist spending most of his politcal career as a Republican, Crist has a strong lead over Rich in the Democratic primary, according to the polls.

Adrian Wyllie, the favorite for the Libertarian nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Scott, went on the attack on Wednesday, going after the two chief candidates in the race.

From his perch on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who has been sharply critical of the Venezuelan regimes crackdown on protesters in recent days, praised the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday for gearing up to take action against that South American nation -- and asked President Barack Obama to lobby OAS members.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., will be looking to ensure the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) increases transparency and stays out of politics on Wednesday. Crenshaw, the chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, will be leading a meeting on Wednesday as Congress listens to testimony from the IRS. The First Coast congressman will be pushing the IRS for more transparency and to ensure the IRS does not target political activists. The IRS was in the news last year for going after conservatives and the tea party movement.