Sunshine State has another banner year for tourism

Florida had another record-setting year for tourism despite natural disasters, a virus outbreak and a tragic attack on an Orlando nightclub. Gov. Rick Scott will announce Thursday at the Brevard Zoo that nearly 113 million tourists visited the state last year. More from the AP and Florida Today.

» Update: See Gov. Scott's announcment in full here.

Floridians say this is the time to purchase a home, survey shows

Even as homeownership nationwide is at a record low, a slim majority of Floridians say now is a good time to buy a house, according to a newly released University of Florida survey. Full story from UF, here.

Congressional delegation vows to tackle Florida's many water issues

Florida's congressional delegation, which stretches from the far left to the far right, has successfully joined together to fight oil drilling efforts. Now the lawmakers are seeking common cause on a broader array of water quality issues facing the state. [Source: Times/Herald]

Florida House moves on eliminating Enterprise Florida, Visit Florida

A measure to abolish the public-private Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida will be heard by the House Appropriations Committee next week. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott continues to tour the state drumming up support for the agencies, appearing Wednesday in Riviera Beach and Sunrise. [Source: Northwest Florida Daily News]

Heat is on to fix assignment of benefits crisis in Florida

Florida’s insurance industry will apply significant pressure on lawmakers to pass assignments of benefit (AOB) reform in the upcoming legislative session as consumers face rate increases and a looming coverage availability crisis due to serious and costly abuse of the policyholder benefit. [Source: Insurance Journal]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Nemours awaits state decision on heart transplant program [Orlando Sentinel]
Nemours Children’s Hospital will find out on Friday if the state is going to give initial approval to its application for a new heart and lung transplant program, which would be Central Florida’s first and the fifth in the state.

› Miami-based MealPal raises $15 million in venture capital, announces expansion plans [News Release]
MealPal, a subscription restaurant lunch service based in the Brickell area of Miami, has quickly expanded to Boston, New York and four other U.S. cities.

› Naples film and TV studio doubles in size [Business Observer]
ITZ Studios recently opened a new 8,000-square-foot film and television facility that’s more than double the size of its previous location. Shows ITZ has produced include “Billionaire’s Coast,” which follows high-end Naples real estate brokers as they sell luxury properties, from condos to mansions, in and around Naples.

› Florida lawmakers unveil proposed K-12 school testing reforms [Miami Herald]
Instead of scattering K-12 assessment tests throughout the spring months and disrupting teaching time, a reform proposal being unveiled Wednesday morning in the Florida Legislature would require all such exams to take place only in the final three weeks of the school year.

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› Former Magic Leap executive sues company, alleges gender bias [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Magic Leap’s former vice president of strategic marketing has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company, asserting that management did not include females in top leadership jobs.

› Florida Bill Would Make Charity Poker Tournaments Legal [Cards Chat]
Florida politicians may be opening up some new channels when it comes to non-profit poker. If a bill produced on Monday in the state’s House of Representatives is passed, philanthropic groups will definitely benefit.

› Refugees in Florida are in the spotlight again. Here's what you need to know. [Times/Herald]
As President Trump's executive order thrust refugees into the national spotlight, Florida House lawmakers were preparing a plan to pull the state out of the federal program that assists refugees after they arrive in the country.

› Orlando tech Kickstarter appears ready to fall short [Orlando Sentinel]
A Kickstarter campaign that hoped to raise $165,000 to support several groups in the Orlando tech community has raised less than one-third of its goal with less than two days remaining to raise the rest.