After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 314-112 Thursday to repeal a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires businesses to file a 1099 tax form for any payments that exceed $600 per year to any other business or payee. Small businesses have derided the provision as burdensome. Republicans in the House are touting this bill, which garnered 76 Democratic votes and could have a longer shelf life than the complete repeal bill passed earlier this year, as a more tangible way to push back against President Barack Obama's signature legislation.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced on Thursday that he had formed an exploratory committee, taking one of the most colorful and controversial political leaders in America closer to launching a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Speaking at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta on Thursday, Gingrich said that he was launching a website for his exploratory committee but he did not formally announce that he was running for the Republican nomination.

Gov. Rick Scott has issued an executive order re-establishing the Office of Open Government in an effort to recover costs stemming from public records requests. Those seeking public records will be required to pay for materials and the labor of researching documents and reviewing them for any information exempt from the public record laws. Here are some of the new rules and charges for public records requests:

State officials, led by Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi, have reached an agreement with federal Claims Czar Kenneth Feinberg on reforming the claims process resulting from the oil spill that plagued the Sunshine State last year. Floridas tourism, fishing and seafood industries are still feeling the impacts of last summers disaster almost a year later, said Scott. Mr. Feinberg agrees that its time to get to work and implement a streamlined, fair and effective way of paying these claims for Floridians.