Florida’s Commissioner of Education could become an elected position rather than an appointed one if a new bill passes through the Florida Legislature this year. 

Gov. Rick Scott is proposing more money for land preservation next year, but environmentalists say the levels fall short of what voters wanted in passing a 2014 constitutional amendment.

As part of his proposed $79.3 billion budget introduced Monday, Scott is asking for $62.8 million for the land-acquisition program Florida Forever, $188 million for work to improve the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee and another $50 million to help maintain the state's natural springs.

Scott called his proposal a "historic investment" as all the numbers top the funding for the current year.

On Monday, one of the most prominent social and religious conservative groups in America backed U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis’, R-Fla., effort to win the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio has said he won’t seek a second term in the Senate in 2016. 

Gov. Rick Scott named Tom Delacenserie as the secretary of the Lottery on Monday. Delacenserie had been serving as interim secretary. 

At a media event in Jacksonville on Monday morning, Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his $79.3 billion proposed budget.

From his seat on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, a Florida congressman is looking to ensure President Barack Obama can’t ignore Congress as the administration transfers captured terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay. 

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., signed his name to a Florida group’s pledge to officially end the Common Core State Standards should he be elected president, according to a release sent to Sunshine State News. 

One of the lobbying groups with the most firepower at the Florida Capitol is the National Rifle Association. It's rare, though not unheard of, for the organization to lose a legislative vote.

Which is why it was somewhat surprising to see a House committee shoot down a measure the NRA has backed for the 2016 session.

That was just one of a series of bills about firearms considered in Tallahassee this week, and in most cases the NRA managed to outgun its opponents.

A House committee killed off a bill to shift the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground cases earlier this week and the National Rifle Association isn’t too pleased with the committee, calling the 6-6 tie vote a “betrayal” to law-abiding gun owners. 

Democrats looking to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2016 clashed over President Barack Obama’s call to allow refugees from Syria relocate to the United States.