Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, represents District 101 in the Florida House of Representatives. His district spans the state from I-75 in Collier County to Pembroke Pines on the east coast. He was elected in 2007 in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Mike Davis, whom he considered a friend and mentor.

As chair of the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, Hudson is the top health care budget writer in the House and will have to deal with all the difficulties that come with that.

The State Board of Education is likely to vote this week on a new education commissioner, hoping to bring some stability to an agency that has been roiled by missteps and controversy.

Board members will hold interviews Tuesday with the three finalists for the job: Tony Bennett, Indiana superintendent of public instruction; Murray State University President Randy Dunn; and Charles Hokanson, a consultant and former president of the Alliance for School Choice.

Sen. Joe Negron, one of the Legislatures libertarian stalwarts, wasted no time Monday defending the privacy rights of Florida citizens.

Speaking during an afternoon meeting of Attorney General Pam Bondi's Statewide Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse and Newborns, Negron expressed his skepticism of online information-sharing.

I'm in the camp that believes Republicans have no choice but to agree to raise taxes on the top 2 percent of earners. The party has been successfully caricatured as the servant of the rich.