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The state is doing away with business license fees for people who served in the military.

A bill Governor Rick Scott signed Friday eliminates licensing fees for 24 months after a soldier has been honorably discharged. Ken Lawson, the secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation says eliminating the fees is the state’s way of saying thank you.

“We are proud of our veterans. People who have served in the military honorably. It’s a way for the governor to say come to Florida after you are done with your careers, establish a business here, be part of our economy and we want you to know we support you. We believe in you,” said Lawson.

The program goes into effect October first.

An Easter issue of decades past has been resurrected by the Florida legislature. In 1967, the state outlawed coloring animals to protect baby chickens and bunnies. Before the ban, pet stores would paint the animals in pastels for Easter sales. But once the color faded, the animals were often being abandoned. As Whitney Ray tells us, a bill lifting the ban is on the governor’s desk and animal lovers are outraged.

Do not adjust your TV set. These baby chicks really are blue, green, orange, purple, red and yellow. Albeit not naturally and not in Florida.

The only colorful chickens you’ll find here are these Peeps. It’s been illegal to dye animals in the sunshine state since the 1960s, but just in time for Easter a bill lifting the ban is on Governor Rick Scott’s desk.

And if he signs it, these Peeps could come to life. But so far more than 4-thousand people have emailed Scott calling for a veto. When asked about the bill Scott reminisced about chickens he briefly owned as a boy.

“My grandfather gave me some chickens and I think he came to his senses and took them back.” “He didn’t think they would probably last very long,” said Scott.

And that’s exactly what opponents fear. They say the bright colored animals will be irresistible to kids. But after the color fades so will their zeal to care for them.

Here at Carol’s Critters the bunnies aren’t for sale until after Easter to discourage irresponsible buyers.

“It’s not the same as having a stuffed bunny on their Easter basket or a chocolate bunny,” said Carol Hoover, the store’s owner.

The plan to lift the ban has nothing to do with Easter. It was hatched by a dog groomer who said the law kept people from entering their pets in dog shows.

“I don’t have a problem with it as long as it’s a food color dye that won’t hurt the animal,” said Carol.

Even if Scott signs the bill, the ban wouldn’t be lifted until July first, so for now, you can dye Easter eggs, but not the Easter bunny. The governor has until Saturday to decide what to do with the bill. He could sign it, veto it, or let it become law without his signature. And of course opponents want to see the bill dye.

Bare feet, clothing with offensive messages, netted shirts, halters, tube tops, and cut off tee shirts are just a few of the items prohibited in a new dress code for FAMU students. The code was adopted by the University Board of Trustees today, and immediately became a hot topic of discussion on campus. Renee Mowatt agrees with the code.

“I agree because I think when you are on a college campus, you should dress as though you are already in the work world. We are being prepared for our fields of work as we are on campus and I just don’t feel people should be able to dress however they want to dress when they are on campus.”

But Renee found an argument from fellow student Chantal Usher of Jacksonville.

“There are some people who do embarrass and go a little bit far, but this dress code is not going to stop that. People are still going to wear what they want to wear. We are old enough to choose and we should be able to decide what we want to put on our bodies, especially when we are paying thousands of dollars to attend a university” says Chantal.

Students violating the dress code will be denied admission to university events.

It has been more than four months since the Hazing death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion. Governor Rick Scott has said the school must deal with its hazing reputation if it is to survive. There is some indication the FAMU brand has been tarnished by repeated events.

FAMU students will now be required to report hazing within 24 hours under a policy adopted by the University’s Board of Trustees. The policy is in response to the 18 month delay in reporting the involvement of two band professors.The delay prevented charges from being filed. but the faculty remain on suspension.Trustee Chairman Solomon Badger says hazing has got to stop.

“FAMU needs to get it under control, and the other schools need to get it under control” says Badger.

The university is seeing fewer applicants for some programs. It is uncertain if the drop is related to the death of drum major Robert Champion and the subsequent suspension of the band. Administrators say that requiring higher test scores or gpa could be one reason for fewer admissions, and they say they really won;t know if the Champion case had an effect until May or June.

Freshman Dominique Moody remains proud of her school, but acknowledges she is getting a lot of pressure from her parents. “They want me, actually, to leave, but I actually want to stay her for myself, because the experience I get here, I can’t get anywhere else” says the Miami freshman.

Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the future of the suspended FAMU marching 100. President James Ammons has yet to decide if the band will return this fall. “We have several pieces of information that we need before we make a decision on that.”

The investigation into drum major Robert Champions death is now in the hands of prosecutors. Once the investigation is complete, Ammons believes he will have what he needs to make a decision on the bands future.

Today marks 44 years since Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. It’s been 39 days since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford. Protestors are angry there’s been no arrest in the Martin case. As Whitney Ray tells us, they took their frustration to the state capitol today to remember King’s death and to call for action in the Martin case.

Wearing hoods in 80 degree weather and walking up hill, shouting all the way these protestors marched to the Florida State Capitol. Their message is clear.

They want to see George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin, behind bars. It’s been more than a month since Zimmerman told police he shot Martin in self-defense and was released.

These protestors say seeking justice for Martin is an uphill battle, but add the protests and rallies will continue until Zimmerman is arrested.

This is Cynthia Calhoun’s second rally. She lives 20 miles outside Sanford and decided to participate in the march to the capitol for two reason, to support the Martin family and for the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

“Dr. King was doing this in the 1960s and here we are in 2012 doing the same thing over again. When is it going to stop,” asked Calhoun.

Once the crowd arrived at the capitol, they called for the Stand Your Ground Law to be repealed. Since its adoption in 2005, justifiable homicides have nearly tripled. Former State Senator Al Lawson voted for the law, but now says that was a mistake.

“We didn’t really read the bill all the way through and an interpretation in a subsection of the bill is where all the problem is,” said Lawson.

There are differing opinions about what justice in the Martin case looks like, but most of the protestors agree, it begins with an arrest. State Senator Chris Smith is holding a task force meeting on Stand Your Ground tomorrow in Ft. Lauderdale. Governor Rick Scott has named a task force, but they’re not scheduled to meet until the Martin investigation is completed.

Florida A and M University is looking for a new police chief tonight. Chief Calvin Ross resigned today after eleven years on the job. Ross says his departure is voluntary, despite multiple hazing investigations that are on going at the college. The chief says he promised his wife in 2011 that he would retire at the end of the year, but circumstances, including the death of a drum major, forced him to stay on longer than anticipated.

“Then the Champion incident happened” says Ross “And I had to beg off and committed to stay around until we got through the bulk of this crisis.”

Ross will stay on the 98 thousand dollar a year job until May first. He spent 11 years as chief. Before that he was the first secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice and before that spent 23 years with Miami PD, including serving as the departments chief.

A back door effort tonight to speed up a review of Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground Law. After several calls for Governor Rick Scott to begin an immediate investigation went unanswered, State Senator Chris Smith empanelled his own Stand Your Ground task force. As Whitney Ray tells us, the task force, announced today, is made up of mostly Democrats. All are from South Florida.

Less than two weeks after State Senator Chris Smith first asked the governor for an immediate review of Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, he tired of waiting.

“Florida is in a crisis mode,” said Smith.

Many believe Stand Your Ground is the reason George Zimmerman walks free after killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin. Governor Rick Scott named a task force to review the law, but it’s not meeting until the shooting investigation is completed.

“It’s time to get to work. We have a governor who ran on getting to work and now he wants to wait to work,” said Smith.

Smith, a Democrat, has named his own 14 member task force made up of mostly Democrats and attorneys. Some voted against the law in 2005. All are from South Florida.

Reporter: Are there any Republicans on your task force?
Smith: Actually I don’t know of the party of people on the task force. What I’ve done is reached out to other people.”

Smith says he didn’t consider party affiliation when picking task force members but ads, there are defense attorneys on the panel who have used Stand Your Ground to win cases.

The task force will also hear from judges who’ve tried case with defendants who used the self-defense law.

Governor Rick Scott brushed off criticism of his wait-until-we-have-all-the-facts approach.

“The first thing you do is you do an investigation, you make sure justice prevails. Then you step back and say ok, so what did we learn from this. That’s the right way of doing it,” said Scott.

Smith says swift action is needed because Florida’s tourism industry will suffer if travelers don’t think the state is safe. The task force will hold its first meeting Thursday in Ft. Lauderdale at the city’s main library. Public testimony will run from four to six. Then from six to nine members will discuss changes to Stand Your Ground. Those recommendations will be given to the governor, the senate president and the house speaker, possibly with a call for a special session to change the law.

Governor Rick Scott joined hundreds of police officers in a run to the state capitol today in the 30th annual Law Enforcement Torch Run. The run kicks off Florida’s Special Olympic. A very sweaty Scott told reporters afterwards he enjoys spending time with Florida’s special Olympians.

“We have 15-thousand athletes involved in Special Olympics. What a great group of people. It was fun to talk to them when I got to sit down and have my picture taken with them,” said Scott.

The group ran two miles. Attorney General Pam Bondi also participated. Scott and Bondi finished close to the front of the pack.

Controversial legislation removing limits on how much UF and FSU can charge incoming freshman may be irrelevant for at least one more year. The bill has yet to make it to Governor Rick Scott’s desk, but even if he signs it, the schools may not be prepared to raise tuition above 15 percent annual cap next fall. Scott says he’s listening to both students and administrators and hasn’t decided how he will act on the bill.

“My filter is going to be, what is going to be the best for students in our state. What’s going to prepare them in the best manner to make sure they can get a job,” said Scott.

FSU administrators will meet with Scott on April 12th to discuss the bill. School officials say a higher tuition rate would help attracted better professors, invest in cutting edge technology and bring high paying jobs to the state.

New polling shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney in Florida and nationwide by 9 points. And US Senator Bill Nelson leads his likely GOP rival by 8 points. Women are the key to the swing, but as Mike Vasilinda reminds us, the election is still months away.

Barack Obama carried the woman’s vote by eight points in 2008. This year he has pulled to a startling 16 point lead among likely women voters. Most believe it’s because of the contraception issue and the perception that the GOP is anti-woman. Political Scientist Carole Weisert says it’s going to be difficult for the GOP to regain it’s footing among women.

“The contraceptive argument was a little far and a little strident,” Weisert said.

The Quinnipiac poll shows that women in Florida also heavily favor Democrat Bill Nelson, but FSU Young Republican Signe Thompson says her sorority is a mixed bag.

“Well, I’m going to vote for a true conservative,” Thompson said.

The election is still seven months away

Florida Republicans say not to worry, the debate will change once they have a nominee.

“Some of our candidates have been pushing the issues, but I believe overall what the American people are really going to be focused on is the economy and the jobs and that’s going to be what’s at the core of our campaign,” Kristen McDonald, with the Republican Party of Florida, said.

But Florida Democrats believe they have found a winning issue. They say they will keep pushing it.

“You know, these polarizing social issues are going to carry over into the general election, and we’ll be there to remind voters,” Brannon Jordan, with the Florida Democratic Party, said.

Surprisingly, abortion was not the central issue it usually is during the just concluded legislative session. 2012 marks the first year in several that no abortion related legislation has passed.