Florida consumers may again get a three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday this year. The House set the dates for HB 737, which would lift local option sales taxes, from Aug. 3-5 on clothing, footwear, wallets and bags that cost $75 or less, and school supplies that are priced below $15. The move was to accommodate high-performing schools that start earlier in the month.

The Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame Foundation inducted four during the Florida State Fair in Tampa on Tuesday. The 2012 Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees were chosen not only because of their commitment to improving their own craft through technology and innovation, but also because of their willingness to share these advancements with the industry as a whole, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam stated in a release. This years inductees are:

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, said Tuesday that congressional Republicans are turning up the heat on Attorney General Eric Holder and the Fast and Furious gun-walking debacle. The Justice Department continues to deny access to thousands of documents and requests to interview attorneys that may have knowledge of the scandal. We have to keep up the pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder and keep digging into what exactly the Justice Department has to hide, Bilirakis told Sunshine State News.

Central Florida political consultant Doug Guetzloe was found guilty Wednesday afternoon of failing to file tax returns -- in what the Orlando Sentinel calls "the latest setback" in his scrimmage with the Internal Revenue Service. It took a 12-member jury only 30 minutes to find Guetzloe, one of the founders of the Florida TEA Party, guilty of two misdemeanor counts of wilful failure to file tax returns. He now faces up to two years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21.

RINO alert! Martin County Sheriff Bobby Crowder will challenge Rep. Allen West in the GOP primary in the 18th Congressional District. Figuring to run to West's left, Crowder was among a group of sheriffs who endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink over Republican Rick Scott in 2010. Crowder will face West in the newly drawn CD 18, encompassing Martin and St. Lucie counties and the northern portion of Palm Beach County.

Another poll finds Rick Santorum leading the pack of Republican presidential candidates in Michigan. Two polls released on Monday found Santorum ahead in Michigan.

Newt Gingrich's moon colony should be grounded, according to a new poll of GOP voters. The Hill, a Washington, D.C.-based newspaper, is reporting that Newt Gingrichs moon colony has a long way to go before it meets with voters' approval. The Hill poll reveals 64 percent of Republicans disapprove of the United States building a permanent base on the moon. Only 21 percent of GOP voters favor the idea. Continuing their distaste for all things Newt, women --most of all --scoffed at the idea, with only 14 percent approving of the colony.

President Barack Obama announced onFriday that he is changing a Health and Human Services mandate that all large employers must provide comprehensive birth-control coverage to women, including Catholic organizations -- but, according to a poll released on Tuesday, the damage was already done.

Joined by members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Sheriffs Association and Florida Police Chiefs Association, Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed Tuesday for bills sitting before legislators that would ban a new list of synthetic drugs. We will not allow chemists who are altering the components of these dangerous synthetic drugs to circumvent state law, Bondi said during a media conference Tuesday in the Capitol. They think they can stay one step ahead of us. We are on them.

Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, who is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in November, unveiled the support of former Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton on Tuesday. I am honored to have the support of Mayor Rich Crotty, said LeMieux. Mayor Crotty has been a leader in reshaping our economy to a knowledge-based economy to provide good jobs for Central Floridians.

An ethics bill to prohibit employees of a state college or university from serving in the Legislature was narrowly defeated by the Senate Rules Committee Tuesday. The bill, SB 1560, would have targeted only those who work in state jobs. But committee members argued the ban would remove expert knowledge from the Legislature.

Politico's got an interesting take on the new rock-star status of Ocala Republican Cliff Stearns -- who probably never dreamed of seeing his name and "rock star" in the same sentence. (Then again, neither have I.)

This is actually funny, in an alarming kind of way. From the Daily Caller: "A two-part television documentary about President Bill Clintonand his infamously insatiable libido will dive deep about the 42nd presidents lady troubles, examining the betrayal his closest advisers felt as the Monica Lewinsky scandal grabbed the countrys attention in the late 1990s."

The team behind Senate hopeful former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux took aim at GOP primary rival U.S. Rep. Connie Mack on Tuesday, bashing him for supporting earmarks. This Valentine's Day, millions of Floridians are wondering: Who is Washington career politician Connie Mack's valentine? LeMieuxs camp asked in an email sent out on Tuesday. Here at Team LeMieux, we have the inside scoop: Connie Mack just loves earmarks.

A national poll unveiled on Tuesday morning finds that Rick Santorum leads the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls looking to knock off Barack Obama in November. Santorum takes 30 percent of a New York Times/CBS News poll of likely primary voters with Mitt Romney in second place with 27 percent. Ron Paul places third with 12 percent followed by Newt Gingrich with 10 percent. A New York Times/CBS News poll taken last month had Romney in front with 28 percent followed by Gingrich with 21 percent, Santorum with 16 percent and Paul with 15 percent.