Gov. Rick Scott on Monday said Florida is ready to weather a potential federal shutdown and if he were put in congressional shoes hed oppose efforts to raise the federal debt ceiling.

Scott conceded that the nation, which has never failed to pay its bills, is entering new territory if Republican lawmakers and President Barack Obama cannot reach an agreement, but he added that financial markets have likely already figured in such a scenario and would not overreact if it comes to pass.

A group of corrections officers and their union have sued to block the states effort to privatize 18 Florida prisons, saying the law allowing the privatization was illegally added to the state budget during the waning days of the 2011 session.

A lawsuit filed last week in circuit court in Tallahassee says lawmakers overstepped their bounds by including budget proviso language that requires the Department of Corrections to explore the private prison option --a controversial issue that has been simmering in Tallahassee for years.

Residents of Pensacola Beach must pay property taxes like everyone else, the 1st District Court of Appeal affirmed Monday in a case that addresses an issue that has persisted on Santa Rosa Island since shortly after World War II.

Budget belt-tightening and frugality has prompted rating agency Standard & Poors to boost its Florida credit outlook from negative to stable, an upgrade that will translate into more favorable interest rates.

The rating agency touted recent legislative actions to both reduce spending and hold some revenue back for a rainier day.

After paying more than $4.6 billion to private citizens and businesses since the Deepwater Horizon spill, BP officials have told federal overseers that the Gulf Coast economy is mostly back on its feet and therefore the company should not have to pay for most new losses going forward.

In a letter to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which has been set up to reimburse people and businesses for spill-related costs, BP says that future claims should be limited to the small minority of applicants whose businesses have not rebounded.

The Department of Community Affairs' presence in Southwood would come to an end under tentative plans to move remaining personnel downtown as the agency shuts down, shifts focus and folds into Gov. Rick Scotts newly created economic development engine.

Home sales in Florida continued their gradual, yet determined rise in May, creeping up 3 percent from a year ago as median prices remained soft due to the continued sales of distressed properties, Florida Realtors reported Tuesday.

Marking the sixth month of statewide year-over-year sales increases, existing homes increased in 12 of 19 metropolitan areas tracked by the Realtors association, a trend industry leaders hope to continue with interest rates expected to remain favorable over the next several months. The trick is qualifying for the loan in the first place.