With Steve Precourt leaving the Florida House this week, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, named Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, to replace him chairing the State Affairs Committee.

I am honored and humbled to be asked by our Speaker Will Weatherford to chair State Affairs, Boyd announced on Friday. Looking forward to continuing our work.

Boyd, who is serving his second term, previously led the Ethics and Elections, and Government Operations subcommittees.

On Friday in Orlando, pointing to record tourism numbers, Gov. Rick Scott called for investing an additional $100 million for Visit Florida in next years budget.

St. Pete Polls released a poll commissioned by Saint PetersBlog which shows attorney David Jolly, a former aide to the late U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., with a solid lead in Tuesdays Republican congressional primary to take on former state CFO Alex Sink, the Democrat in the contest, in Marchs special election.

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) continues to slam former Gov. Charlie Crist, looking to link him to President Barack Obamas health-care law. On Friday, the RPOF insisted Crist is more concerned with appeasing liberal allies than the needs of Floridians. Despite spending most of his political career as a Republican, Crist is the favorite for the Democratic nomination to challnge Gov. Rick Scott in November.

Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, announced on Thursday he was resigning from the Florida House to take over as the executive director of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.

Gov. Rick Scott cheered the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development passing his bill slashing auto registration fees in Florida. The bill is being sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City. While his bill does not go as far as Scott has proposed, Negron has left the door open to cutting more of the fees.

In its latest in a series of attacks on former Gov. Charlie Crist, Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), slammed the newly minted Democrat for hurting the middle class. Crist, who spent most of his political career as a Republican, is the frontrunner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to challenge Gov. Rick Scott.

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., continues to take aim at the federal budget agreement crafted by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which passed both chambers of Congress last month. On Monday, DeSantis slammed the deal for hurting military retirees.

On Wednesday, U.S. News and World Report released itsrankings of the best online colleges and universities in the nation for bachelor's programs, and schools from the Sunshine State did well.

With less than a week to go until the Republican primary, former Marines Gen. Mark Bircher launched a new radio ad for his congressional bid. The ad plays up Birchers conservatism and insists he will oppose Preisdent Barack Obamas policies.