Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s uproar over Senate Bill 6, legislators sought input from teachers Friday during a workshop meeting of the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee.

Gov. Rick Scott pulled back a request to the U.S. Justice Department to review constitutional amendments 5 and 6 earlier this month, but is taking heat for the move from one member of his own party.

If the businesses that make up the Florida Chamber of Commerce are a little excited about the 2011 legislative session, it’s with good reason.

Gov. Rick Scott allowed SB 2A to pass into law Wednesday, pushing back the start of a program to inspect septic tanks by six months. Some lawmakers, however, want to go further than that -- perhaps as Scott was hoping -- and get rid of the program altogether.

Barely into his administration, Gov. Rick Scott nevertheless took time Friday morning to reflect on his first week in office and tout his accomplishments.

Gov.-elect Rick Scott will roll into office on the heels of a series of inaugural events that will feature national news personalities, performance artists and high school bands from throughout Florida. The events will be a celebration of his electoral victory, but some will also be reminders of the state’s 12 percent unemployment rate and his recipe for recovery.

Florida’s unemployment outlook remains bleak, with the state Agency for Workforce Innovation report released Friday showing a jobless rate of 12 percent for November.

The Florida Public Service Commission Tuesday reached a settlement with Florida Power & Light Co. that will allow the electric company to charge its ratepayers more -- though not as much as the company originally had sought. The increase will bring in an additional $75.5 million, but FPL's base rates will be frozen for the next two years.

Committee meetings for the 2011 legislative session begin Tuesday, and the biggest item on any agenda is Senate Joint Resolution 2, known as the Florida Health Care Freedom Act, which would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to opt out of the Affordable Care Act.

Florida’s construction industry has had a rough time the past three years, but some builders have hope for a turnaround, despite the numerous challenges facing the industry.

Two weeks after legislators passed a law enabling more stringent legislative oversight of the rulemaking process of state agencies, the new law is already having the effect of delaying some new regulations.