Senate President Mike Haridopolos says he's prepared to make tough decisions to cut the state's budget and fill Florida's $3.8 billion deficit hole, including finding savings in the Medicaid program and in the benefits for state workers.

"The alternative is what you're seeing in Washington, D.C., where they don't cut anything," Haridopolos said when asked about other increases in costs like property insurance rates and tuition hikes.

A host of potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination headed down to Florida to back Marco Rubio during last years Senate race -- but dont expect Rubio to return the favor. Politico is reporting that Rubio, who backed Mike Huckabee in 2008, has said that he does not expect to endorse any of the candidates looking to take Barack Obama on come 2012.

Senators cleared the way for 18 bills deemed "uncontroversial" to make their way swiftly through their final committee stop on the way to the floor Wednesday. Each bill hadbeen scheduled for a full hearing in the Budget Committee Friday, but senators voted to clump the bills into a consent agenda that could be voted on as a whole.

Senate Rules Committee Chairman John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, said the bills had not received a single negative vote in previous committees. The move is expected to clear time for the Budget Committee to hash out its budget talks.

A House measure taking aim at pill mills and eliminating the statewide drug-monitoring database passed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.

A day after the House readied its version of Medicaid reform for a final floor vote, the Senate Medicaid overhaul package moved through its first committee.

On Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis introduced a bill that would require the federal government to provide more thorough background checks on student visa applicants.

"Many foreign students come here with noble intentions, and while not all terrorists have come to the U.S. under the guise of a student visa, many do," said Bilirakis. "Terrorists have found a loophole in our nation's security, and we must close that loophole."

With my passion for the Sunshine States history, it came as no surprise to me that Florida played a prominent role in a list of the 100 greatest April Fools Day pranks assembled by the Museum of Hoaxes. Crazy things seem to happen in Florida, as anyone who remembers the 2000 presidential race can attest.

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney took aim at President Barack Obama over military actions on Libya on Tuesday.

A proposal that would pull the plug on multiyear contracts for new state college and community college faculty members and administrators advanced through the House K-20 Competitiveness Subcommittee on a party-lines vote on Tuesday.

Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, the chairman of the subcommittee, relinquished the gavel to present the bill to the committee. He insisted that only employees at the 28 schools in the State College System -- and not universities -- would be impacted by the proposal.

Karen Harrington announced on Monday that she will run once again for Conrgess against Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.