The Department of Corrections announced plans Tuesday to close three prisons, two boot camp programs and another facility as a way of saving $30 million that agency officials say can be done without releasing any inmates early.

Prisons officials also claim they can do it without many layoffs. A statement from the department said the bulk of the cost savings would be generated through employee attrition.

If you think pill mills are a problem in Florida, wait until you see medical marijuana "dispensaries."

That's the word from states that have legalized prescription pot. And it's a warning that wary Florida lawmakers appear to be heeding.

Citing social costs, legal complications and a human weakness for easy money, critics say Florida will be courting trouble if it starts distributing cannabis for medicinal purposes.

In California, law-enforcement agencies routinely raid medical-marijuana dispensaries and charge licensed operators with a host of illegal activities.

School lunch just got political.

Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam told the state Board of Education on Tuesday that he wants to to move the federal child nutrition programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Putnam says the bill, the Healthy Schools for Healthy Lives Act, will allow Florida to take advantage of opportunities to leverage the state's year-round growing season, and create dual benefits of promoting home-grown Florida products, and getting more fresh fruits and vegetables on school lunch trays.

Gov. Rick Scott spoke to senior citizens from across the state Tuesday, praising them for their volunteer activities and reiterating his support for a budget with reduced government spending and lower taxes.

With legislators from both parties seated around the podium, Scott said the hundreds of senior citizens who had gathered in Tallahassee for Ambassadors for Aging days represented the states 4.45 million senior citizens. He said they volunteer 7.6 million man hours annually across Florida.

A day after an E-Verify requirement was tossed from a Senate immigration bill, GOP leaders said the provision would be put back in.

Sources told Sunshine State News on Tuesday that the proposed committee bill would be "fixed" to reinstate wording that mandates the use of E-Verify, a federal database that screens job applicants for employment eligibility.

Speaking on background, one source said Senate leaders would reverse the action taken by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.