U.S. Rep. David Rivera signed on to a bill introduced by his fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan looking to prevent an effort, backed by Cuba, to drill for oil off the coast of Florida. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill hurt the economy of my state, said Rivera, who is co-sponsoring the measure.It especially affected the tourism and fishing industries that employ so many people in Florida.

On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his reform plans for state employees, arguing that the changes he is backing will save Floridians almost $3 billion in the next two years. Scott called for state employees to place 5 percent of their salaries into the current pension system and have new employees enroll in retirement plans more similar to those of private-sector employees.

Religious conservatives are weighing in on a federal judge agreeing with the constitutional challenge launched by Florida against the health care law backed by Presidential Barack Obama.

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott outlined his plans for announcing his budget recommendations and spoke about meeting with federal agency heads in Washington, D.C., during his trip there Monday, and about the ruling striking down the health care law.

Mark your calendar: Florida Space Day will be March 16 at the Capitol. With the space shuttle retirement later this year, it is imperative that government and industry work in partnership to continue to create a cohesive and successful vision for the future of space exploration, said Kevin Hoshstrasser, chairman for Florida Space Day 2011.

Just in time for what should be an interesting mayoral election in the Bold New City of the South, powerhouse lobbying firm Smith & Ballard opened up an office in Jacksonville to be led by two prominent figures -- veteran Republican strategist Susie Wiles and Jacksonville Jaguar legend Tony Boselli.

Like the rest of the congressional delegation, the freshmen from Florida broke on party lines over federal judge Roger Vinsons decision to rule the health care law backed by President Barack Obamaunconstitutional. The new Republicans backed the decision while Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson opposed it.

The Florida TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party scored a court victory this week when Orange-Osceola Circuit Judge Stan Strickland dismissed a Republican Party-financed lawsuit. The case of Don Hensarling v. Jon Foley sought a "pure bill of discovery" that would have allowed GOP attorneys to conduct what Strickland called a "fishing expedition" by the party.

Tea party groups are applauding Gov. Rick Scott's budget unveiling, even before the budget is announced. As first reported by Sunshine State News on Monday, Scott will release his first state budget in Eustis, a small Central Florida town, after meeting with tea party activists there. The sponsoring group is the Florida Liberty Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 tea party leaders from across the state. The North Lake Tea Party, headed by former congressional candidate Patricia Sullivan, is the local host.

On Monday, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee --who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and may do so again in 2012 --offered his thoughts on a federal judge ruling that the health care law backed by President Barack Obama was unconstitutional.

With federal Judge Roger Vinson ruling that the health care law backed by President Barack Obama is unconstitutional, the matter clearly appears to be headed to the Supreme Court of the United States -- making Justice Anthony Kennedy, once again, the man in the middle. Look at the courts makeup. The conservative block -- namely Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito -- will almost certainly back Vinson and oppose the law as unconstitutional. The liberals on the bench -- Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan -- will, in all likelihood, support the law.

With Florida once again the center of political attention on Monday when federal Judge Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola struck down the federal health care law backed by President Barack Obama as unconstitutional, the Sunshine States congressional delegation broke on party lines in their reaction to the decision.

With an eye on taking on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack praised the decision by federal Judge Roger Vinson declaring the health care law backed by President Barack Obama unconstitutional and called for the Senate to pass a measure repealing it.

Gov. Rick Scott's office issued a statement Monday praising a ruling issued by a Pensacola district court judge, Roger Vinson, declaring the health care law passed last year by Democrats unconsitutional. Notably, he did not mention former Attorney General Bill McCollum, his opponent in the Republican primary who instigated the lawsuit, as Senate President Mike Haridopolos did in his statement.

Gov. Rick Scott will unveil his first state budget on Feb. 7 in ... Eustis. The governor reportedly chose the small Central Florida town in consultation with tea party groups. The consensus, according to one participant, was to get outside the not-so-friendly confines of Tallahassee. As one tea partier told Sunshine State News: "If the Tallahassee press corps wants to cover it, they can get in their cars and drive." Confirming the Feb. 7 date in Lake County, the governor's office said specific details on time and place will be forthcoming.