A new report by taxpayer research institute 40-year-old Florida TaxWatch provides an update of the true average cost of educating a K-12 public school student in Florida. The government watchdog released a similar independent study in March 2017 that considered all categories of expenditures necessary for the operation of public schools.

On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the unemployment rate in Florida fell to 3.4 percent in January. It had been 3.5 percent in December, the last full month that Gov. Rick Scott held office in Tallahassee. DeSantis took over at the start of the second week in January. 

DeSantis showcased the state outpaced the nation when it came to job growth in the past. While the nation saw 2.1 percent job growth last year, Florida saw 2.7 percent job growth. 

U.S. Congressmen Brian Mast, R-Fla. and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. introduced on Thursday the bipartisan Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019, or KITTEN Act. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to end the use of cats in experiments that cause pain or stress. 

Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) performs parasite-related experiments on cats and kittens. This taxpayer-funded testing results in thousands of kittens bred, fed parasite-infected raw meat and then killed.

Following a roundtable discussion with Floridians and healthcare leaders to hear their personal stories of dealing with soaring prescription drug costs this week, Sen. Rick Scott spoke to the Federation of American Hospitals to share his commitment to finding common-sense solutions to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for Florida families.

Read his remarks as prepared for delivery below:

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, named Hog Technologies, of Stuart as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week.

Florida's senior senator released the following video message to congratulate the up-and-coming business. A broadcast quality version can be found here.

With Argosy University, a proprietary school with campuses across the nation, failing to disperse financial aid funds to students, members of the Florida delegation are calling for action from the U.S. Department of Education. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in Tallahassee Wednesday the appointments of John “Jay” Steinle and Scott Wagner to the board of the South Florida Water Management District. The appointments follow six previous appointments made by the governor to the board since taking office in January.