State Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, received the 2011 John and Reve Walsh Award for his DNA Database legislation, during the Florida Missing Childrens Day ceremony in the Capitol courtyard on Monday. Its not me, this is for the Florida Legislature and the governor, Snyder said. The law, approved in 2009 and funded in the recent session, collects DNA samples from all suspects arrested for felonies in the state of Florida. Previously, DNA samples could only be taken at the time of conviction.

Gov. Rick Scott says any adjustments to the proposed rate hike for Citizens sinkhole insurance must be fair to both insurance providers and customers. We have to have a financially sound insurance program, we want insurance companies coming to our state, but we got to be fair to our citizens also, Scott said.

Activist Fred Karger, a veteran of many Republican campaigns, will not be included in the Republican presidential debate being held in Tampa on Monday night -- but he will still be getting his message across. The Karger camp released a statement on Monday with the news that they will be running a commercial during the debate, including in Florida markets.

Gov. Rick Scott said he won't be able to watch tonights CNN/Tea Party Express debate in Tampa, but if he was able to attend hed want to hear each candidates plans to create jobs. I think the biggest question for everyone in the country, even if the Democrats were having a debate, it would be the same issue: its about jobs.Who has the right blueprint for job creation? Scott said Monday morning. Without jobs we dont have the money for any of the safety nets we have; we cant afford any of the government programs we have.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) will be holding a kickoff for the Republican Party of Floridas (RPOF) Presidency 5 event next week in Orlando. The FFC event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22, the first day of Presidency 5.

On Monday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter of Michigan, a dark horse candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, will unveil his plan to save Social Security. McCotter spoke to supporters in a conference call on Monday morning and opened a new line of attack in the debate on Social Security reform. The only Republican presidential candidate who is younger than President Barack Obama, McCotter, who is 46, referred to himself as a member of Generation X and insisted that voters his age were worried about Social Security.

Software company owner Ron Rushing released a web video over the weekend as he continues his bid to challenge Florida Senate Leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, in the Republican primary next year. In the new video, Rushing, who beat Gardiner handily in a straw poll among conservative activists at the Conservative Roar on I-4 event earlier in the month, plays up the fact that he is a citizen activist and not a politician.

Florida ranks fourth in "Best Business Climate," according to the trade publication, Business Facilities. Utah, Texas and Virginia placed 1-2-3, the survey said. And if Gov. Rick Scott has anything to say about it, the Sunshine State could move up the list next year as he is in the process of repealing 1,000 regulations that he says hamper recruitment and expansion of commerce. See the story here.

Faltering in the national polls, Iowa straw poll winner Michele Bachmann needs a home run in Monday night's CNN/Tea party Express Debate in Tampa. Bachmann hopes to parlay the tea party support she enjoyed during a recent swing through Florida into a telegenic victory tonight. The stakes got higher over the weekend when Tim Pawlenty endorsed Mitt Romney. Pawlenty received significant early endorsements from state GOP leaders before he dropped out of the race last month. Romney has the most extensive campaign network, dating from his run in 2008.

A month after he ended his own bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota endorsed former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for the GOP nod.

With the Republican presidential candidates preparing to square off on Monday night in a debate in Tampa sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express, a new national poll found that Gov. Rick Perry continues to lead the race.

As the 2012 NFL season gets underway, Congressman Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, already has at least one game penned into his schedule. The GOP deputy whip will be raising cash for his 2012 re-election efforts by watching his belovedPittsburgh Steelers play the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 9.

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor will be at the University of Florida Monday to speak separately on judicial reform and civics, and to attend the dedication of the Stephen N. Zack Hall.

It's nearly Florida's time to shine. And if you listen to the nation's talking heads, the Sunshine State GOP has what Phil Musser, a former director of the Republican Governors Association and a frequent consultant in the state, calls "the real chance to be the decider." In the 2012 election's early and highly speculative stages, strategists see Iowa and South Carolina as potentially good fits for Rick Perry, while Mitt Romney could do well in New Hampshire and Nevada.

Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, will visit his alma mater Stetson University on Tuesday, where he will address students and faculty. Haridopolos will appear at: 1 p.m. in American Studies Professor Paul Croces class History of American Science and Religion: Darwinism and the Divine in the American Culture, at 1 p.m. in the Rinker Auditorium of the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand;