The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed water standards for Florida will cost the state more than $1 billion -- nearly 30 times the EPA's estimates -- according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Florida and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said that the numeric water nutrient standards would create "significant ripple effects on suppliers and employees." The study predicted that "more than 14,000 jobs will be lost."

The Florida House passed a measure supporting Attorney General Bill McCollums lawsuit against the federal government for new health-care laws by a 74-41 vote. McCollum filed suit against the health-care legislation the same day that President Barack Obama signed it into law. The lawsuit has already been filed, said Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who said that his measure was about standing.

While some retiring House members have complained about term-limits during their farewell addresses, Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, said he still supported them but noted that term-limits paved the way for more power from special interest groups. Homan said one way of taking power away from the special interest groups would be to stop naming future speakers until after they have served four years in the House.

Republicans, led by incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, and Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, questioned whether or not Fair Districts Florida is actually a grassroots effort.

While the House debates adding more redistricting amendments to join the Fair Districts Florida measures already on the November ballot, one prominent Democrat who supports the Republicans is on the floor. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, who has been vocal in opposing the Fair Districts measures, is on the floor, conferring with members.

The always controversial and colorful Bob Kunst is running for office yet again. During his years leading the Oral Majority against the Moral Majority and Jerry Falwell, Kunst made numerous bids for governor and a U.S. Senate seat as a Democrat, and now he is gunning for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, running as an independent for the congressional seat she currently holds.

They said they have nothing to hide, and on Friday Republican Party of Florida Executive Board members backed it up: They unanimously passed a motion to release all American Express statements for all RPOF credit cards during the tenure of former Chairman Jim Greer. That means AmEx charges -- "thousands of pages of documentation" -- from January 2007 through February 2010 will be publicly available "no later than two weeks from today, Friday, April 23, 2010."

U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio is hoping to capitalize on Gov. Charlie Crist's apparent party affiliation switch. Hiscampaign launched a Web site hoping get 2,400 donors by April 26.

A bill that Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, introduced authorizing cameras to be placed on traffic lights to bust drivers who run red lights, with fines up to $158, passed the House on a 77-33 vote. I truly believe this is a public safety issue and that the money will go on to health care, said Reagan. This is nothing more than a revenue grab, said Rep. Robert Schenk, R-Spring Hill, who fought against the measure. Government has an insatiable appetite for our taxpayers hard-earned money.

The House honored Mallory Horne today. Horne, the only man to serve as Senate President and House Speaker since Reconstruction, passed away last April of lung cancer. Horne was a key leader in keeping Tallahassee as the state capital. Horne ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1974 in an 11 candidate field but placed behind Bill Gunter and eventual winner of the run-off Richard Stone.

As national endorsements roll in for Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate bid, Charlie "What, Me Worry?" Crist seems decidedly unimpressed. "I care what my fellow Floridians think and what their thoughts are much more than anybody from Washington," the glib governor says. While only the most rabid neocons were likely to be impressed when Dick Cheney threw his support to Rubio this week, rank-and-file Floridians have been abandoning Crist in droves.

They've debated with him, they've welcomed him to their distrcts. They've been rushed and shushed by him. And today, lawmakers said farewell to Senate President Jeff Atwater. In a lengthy round of praise that lasted roughly an hour, senators from both parties recalled how the North Palm Beach Republican made every attempt to make them feel at home on the Senate floor and treated them as family.

As the Florida House tackled more than 100 bills on Friday, the session came to a screeching halt and passed a resolution honoring former House Speaker Fred Schultz who passed away last year.

Despite raking in $1.36 million so far for her reelection bid, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas has drawn three serious Republican challengers. Former Ruth Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller is boasting that he has brought in more than $341,000 to his campaign coffers -- though the campaign does not note that $200,000 of that came from Millers own funds. Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Orlando, has raised almost $287,000 and has almost $168,000 on hand-but $100,000 of that came out her own personal accounts.