Continuing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., showcased his efforts in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, on Monday. Rubio showcased a Web video of his campaigning in Iowa that was released at the end of last week. The Iowa caucuses are the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on who they want our presidential nominee to be and that means Ill be making many more visits to the state over the coming months, Rubio emailed supporters on Monday.

At the start of the month, U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif., to introduce the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2015 which gives states incentives to crack down on texting or emailing when driving. On Friday, Deutch showcased his efforts and praised a similar push in Tallahassee from Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, and Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Delray Beach.

Gov. Rick Scott announced a solid growth in tourism in the first quarter of 2015. On Friday, Scott noted 28.4 million visitors came to the Sunshine State during the first three months of 2015, up 6.2 percent from the first quarter of 2014, leading to 1,186,900 jobs in Florida, up almost 5 percent from last year. That number includes 1.7 million tourists from Canada and almost 3 million from overseas.

On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill allowing online voter registration access, though he admitted some hesitation in doing so due to security and technology issues. Scott sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner on Friday outlining his rationale and hesitations on signing the bill:

On Thursday, Citizens United Political Victory Fund (CUPVF), conservative group Citizens Uniteds PAC, endorsed U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate next year. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination.

Floridas two U.S. senators -- Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bill Nelson -- teamed up on Thursday to unveil the the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Act of 2015 to codify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project, an effort to improve hurricane forecasting.

The Democratic leadership continues to line up behind U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate next year. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination. On Thursday, Murphy announced West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman endorsed his Senate bid.

Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, now looking at a third run at the U.S. Senate, will be hitting the campaign trail later this week to support an old ally.

On Monday, at NeoGenomics Laboratories in Fort Myers, Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., showcased its growth which has led to almost 125 new jobs over the last five years in the Sunshine State.

Late on Sunday, USA Today published an op-ed from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Rubio insists in the op-ed that the U.S. remains vulnerable to terrorism and calls for holding off on rolling back the powers and the activites of the National Security Agencys (NSA) collecting of bulk data:

Former Amb. John Bolton, who is looking at running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and was President George W. Bushs ambassador to the United Nations, threw his support behind U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. in the Senate. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nomination.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., woos Republicans in New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary, as he continues his bid for the White House. On Thursday, Rubio released a Web video showcasing his efforts in the Granite State.

Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R- Merritt Island, today issued the following statement on the state of budget negotiations and the upcoming special session. While significant discussions lay before us, today marks a very good day for Florida as we have reached agreement on dates for a budget special session. We look forward to working with our partners in the Senate as we make continued progress in the weeks ahead. The House and Senate today announced the 2015 Special Session-A will take place from June 1-20.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner is launching a new initiative, Victory Florida, to commemorate the 70 years that have passed since the end of World War II. Detzner will make the announcement Monday at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee.

Gov. Rick Scott met with U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as the Florida Legislature continues to face a stalemate over the budget due to Medicaid expansion. Scott asked Burwell to offer Low Income Pool (LIP) funding in Florida even as the Legislature awaits a special session.