Several tea parties have received what they call "intimidating letters" from the Internal Revenue Service demanding detailed lists of contributors, as well as contact information of members and speakers.

The IRS says it's just business as usual.

The IRS letters were triggered by the groups seeking 501(c)4 tax-exempt status, and these tea and patriot organizations complain that the IRS responses smack of a political fishing expedition, if not an outright witch hunt.

With Super Tuesday complete, the Republican presidential hopefuls turned their focus toward states looming on the calendar -- Kansas, Alabama and Mississippi -- and to trying to nudge each other out of the race.

RELATED: Budget process unaffected, lawmakers say.

The governors office wasted little time filing an appeal to Circuit Judge Jackie Fulfords ruling Tuesday that requires all state employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay toward the pension program.

The Senate Budget Committee, which includes more than half the members of the Senate, approved a negotiated package Wednesday that would provide more than $120 million in tax credits to a wide range of businesses and consumers in Florida.

Committee Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said the package, HB 7087, was the product of negotiations between the House and Senate.

This represents the consensus between the House and the Senate on what the tax package would look like, Alexander said.

With 10 states up for grabs, Mitt Romney emerged a battered winner on Super Tuesday -- but he didn't knock out his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney won six of the 10 states that held contests on Tuesday. While he won Ohio, his chief battleground on Tuesday, Romney's wins also included two New England states, which Republicans have little chance of winning in November, and Virginia, where his chief GOP rivals did not make the ballot.

A controversial overhaul of Florida's no-fault insurance system is slated for a full Senate vote on Wednesday after muscling through a contentious session Tuesday that made significant changes, and raised the temperature in the usually staid chamber.

Following hours of amending, questions and debate, the chamber gave preliminary approval to changes that critics say don't go far enough and even backers acknowledge may be a bit far from a competing House plan for lawmakers to reach agreement by the end of session.

Reform of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is apparently dead in the House after backers of the bill were unable to remove an unfriendly amendment added a day earlier by senators, including a number of Republicans again crossing leadership, intent on killing the reform effort backed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, the sponsor of the legislation to reform Citizens, HB 245, said there isnt enough time left in the session to restart the effort to reduce the number of policies.

Gov. Rick Scott is confident that higher courts will overturn Circuit Judge Jackie Fulfords decision Tuesday to block the less-than-year-old law to require state employees to contribute 3 percent of their pay toward Florida's pension program.

Its clearly constitutional. I cannot imagine a judge making this decision, Scott told reporters Tuesday night outside the Capitol.

WASHINGTON -- Dear Mitt: Consider me a neighbor leaning over the picket fence. You have a picket fence, don't you? An ivy-covered wall? Fine, I'll get a ladder.