Florida's Public Service Commission has approved Florida Power and Light's storm-hardening plan, which strengthens utility infrastructure before storms in an effort to reduce outages and restoration costs, through 2012.

Florida has been recognized as a national leader in preparing for, and responding to, storm damage.When storms do occur, these efforts will expedite response times and minimize electrical outages to customers and help communities recover more quickly,"said PSC Chairman Art Graham.

Citing the lack of a clear bill before the Senate Agriculture Committee, the committee's chair, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, cancelled a discussion Tuesday on how immigration affects the agriculture industry.

"It's my position in talking to (Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island) that any bill dealing with immigration should come through our committee. That's why I wanted to make sure we didn't discuss it right now in the open and it has no germanity," Siplin said.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will continue touring that island nation on Tuesday.

State CFO Jeff Atwater praised a proposal from fellow Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan looking to amend the U.S. Constitution to mandate the federal government maintain a balanced budget.

"Just as families across Florida and the nation work to balance their checkbooks each month, the federal government must work to balance the nations budget, said Atwater. The people of Florida spoke clearly and loudly on Election Day when they overwhelmingly, by a 72 percent margin, supported balancing the federal budget without raising taxes.

Conservative leader Gary Bauer, best known for leading the Family Research Council and running for the Republican presidential nomination back in 2000, offered his take on the mass shooting in Arizona that took place on Saturday.

Glenn Beck wrote a letter to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Monday after the tragic mass shooting in Arizona on Saturday.

I want you to know you have my support, read Beck on his radio show. But please look into protection for your family. An attempt on you could bring the republic down.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is going to concentrate on his new job, rather than immediately look for a new one, The Hill reports.

Last week, conservative scribbler Bill Kristol named Rubio as the vice presidential part of his dream ticket, which would have U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., at the top, but it appears that Rubio is not seeking out the role.

NASA astronaut Mark Kelly --husband to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head Saturday in a mass shooting but has survived and is in critical condition --released a statement Monday. Kelly is scheduled to command the Endeavor Space Shuttle on its mission to the International Space Station when it lifts off from Cape Canaveral later this year.

Here is the text of the statement:

American flags will be flown at half-staff throughout Florida and the rest of the country after President Barack Obama gave the order in respect for the victims of Saturday's mass shooting in Arizona, which took the lives of six people, including U.S. District Court Judge John Roll, and injured 14 including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Here is the release from Gov. Rick Scott's office:

Gov. Scott met with Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara at the Capitol building Saturday afternoon to discuss Florida's high-speed rail project and expanding trade between Florida and Japan.

The governor made no pronouncements about high-speed rail, but announced he plans to visit Japan to hold further trade talks later in his administration.