As gas prices continue to soar, the White House has a solution: Increase taxes on oil companies. President Barack Obama urged Congress to immediately eliminate "unwarranted" tax breaks for petroleum producers. Obama said the move would yield $4 billion a year that would go to developing alternative energy. At the same time, the administration backed off earlier plans to expand offshore drilling.

The ad-hoc meetings between Florida Senate leaders and immigrants continued Tuesday, and the surreal sessions aren't playing well with border-control groups. Noting reports that some 50 people packed the office of Senate President Mike Haridopolos Tuesday morning to ask him to halt proposed bills cracking down on illegal immigration, conservative activist George Fuller commented: "WTF," and offered a bit of advice to law-abiding citizens.

Gov. Rick Scott today announced the reappointments of Albert Joerger, H. Paul Senft, and Doug Tharp to the governing board of Southwest Florida Water Management District. Joerger, 43, of Sarasota, is the founder and president of The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.He is reappointed for a term beginning April 26, 2011, and ending March 1, 2015. Senft, 71, of Haines City, is a self-employed business and insurance consultant. He is reappointed for a term beginning April 26, 2011, and ending March 1, 2015.

George LeMieux and Adam Hasner, two announced candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, traded barbs in back-to-back teleconferences Tuesday. As the pair maneuvered to present themselves as the most conservative choice, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who outraised Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the first quarter, was toiling on the state budget in Tallahassee So which one has the edge for 2012? Who has the "right" bona fides? What does Sen. Marco Rubio think? See our upcoming story.

A new Rasmussen poll finds that 67 percent of likely U.S. voters favor training and licensing of nurse practitioners to expand the level of routine medical care. Only 20 percent oppose such training and licensing, with another 12 percent not sure. The poll results support efforts by Florida nurse practitioners to practice at their full scope, but their campaign has been bottled up at the Legislature, where the Florida Medical Association stands in opposition.

Sharia in Florida? Thats what David Caton of the conservative Florida Family Association is warning against in an e-mail sent out to supporters on Tuesday. Islamic rule of law will effectively reign in our state if Florida law enforcement agencies decline to properly investigate and file appropriate charges in violent crimes that are condoned and promoted by Sharia law, insisted Caton. Law enforcement's unwillingness to properly investigate and bring charges in these crimes will undermine our public safety and severely change our value system.

Legislative leaders have not included property cuts and business income tax cuts asserted by Gov. Rick Scott as essential to jump-starting Florida's economy as part of their budget allocation deal, but Scott remains certain they will be included in the final budget.

Like Gov. Rick Scott, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rescind its January 2009 determination that numeric nutrient criteria are necessary in Florida. Putnam wrote a letter Tuesday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson expressing his support for the petition to that end, submitted Friday by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The petition wants rulemaking authority for nutrients returned to the state.

Gov. Rick Scott, along with Florida's law enforcement community, boasted Tuesday of the 6.7 percent reduction in the overall crime rate for 2010. The uniform crime report unveiled Tuesday also reflected a 10.1 percent reduction in violent crime. Scott noted that while four officers were killed in the line of duty and five officers suffered accidental deaths in all of 2010, six officers have already been killed in the line of duty in 2011.

New year, same result: Word is that the Senate energy bill is doomed. In yet another year of high expectations and dashed hopes, SB 2078, along with various amendments, was temporarily postponed by the Budget Committee. That "TP" appears to be a death knell.

After defeating amendments from Democrats designed to weaken the bill, Republicans passed SB 2086 through the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday, clearing its way to the Senate floor. The bill eliminates one week of the current two-week early voting period and prevents voters who move to another county from changing their address at the polling place on Election Day. Democrats say it is a partisan bill designed to prevent students who move away for college from voting.

An aide and fund-raiser for former Congressman Robert Wexler, has been sentenced to a year's probation and fined $3,200 for giving the Internal Revenue Service false information about a $15,000 kickback she received in a real estate deal mixed up in Democrat Wexler's campaign. Even after the sentencing, the case remains a mystery. It was a joint FBI/IRS money-laundering investigation that led to the criminal charge against Daniella Howard.

In the opening moments of the House session on Tuesday, the chamber had a guest -- Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who thanked the House members for their work on the budget. Despite some contention, the two chambers announced an agreement on general revenue allocations on Tuesday morning and the Senate president spoke briefly from the House floor. I miss the House, said a smiling Haridopolos.

On Tuesday the Florida House honored former Jacksonville Mayor Ed Austin, who passed away over the weekend, with a moment of silence. Mayor Austin served the people for more than 50 years, said Rep. Mike Weinstein, R-Jacksonville, who served with him for more than two decades, including a tenure as Austins chief of staff. Weinstein talked about Austins role as a mentor to a host of public servants. Rep. Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, who worked with Austin as an assistant state attorney, called him a great leader and a visionary.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, have announced they have reached a deal on budget allocations for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. There are no details yet, but the deal comes less than 24 hours after the Senate's chief negotiator, Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, complained of Cannon's "stunts" and negotiating tactics.