CAMPAIGNS HEAT UP…With roughly a month to go before the Aug. 24 primary the focus for the next few weeks will be largely on the campaigns, especially the GOP campaign for governor and the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

MONDAY, JULY 26

CITIZENS…Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s largest property insurance carrier, will have a teleconference at 2 p.m.  The Citizens Board of Governors is scheduled to vote on a 2011 rate hike that will be submitted to state regulators for approval.  If approved rates statewide would be increased by an average of 8.4 percent, although some homeowners could see rates go up more than 11 percent because of a surcharge for a state-created reinsurance fund. The number for teleconference is 888-295-6211.

VOTING REGISTRATION DEADLINE…Monday is the last day that someone can register to vote in Florida and still be eligible to vote in the Aug. 24 primary.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL….Rick Scott wraps up his bus tour with a swing through the Panhandle, concluding with a free concert with the Bellamy Brothers in Pensacola Beach at 6 p.m. CDT. Attorney General Bill McCollum will address the Florida Sheriff’s Association Summer Training Conference at noon in Fort Lauderdale and he will speak to the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee at 7 p.m. Marco Rubio will unveil ideas to cut government spending during a “Reclaim America” town hall meeting at 12:30 p.m. in Jacksonville. Jeff Greene will visit the Carlos Boozer basketball camp in Miami at 11 a.m. and meet with community leaders at 4:30 p.m. at the home of Dolores Turner.

TUESDAY, JULY 27

BUSH TALKS TO LEGISLATORS…Former Gov. Jeb Bush is scheduled to give a keynote address at the 2010 summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Louisville, Kentucky. Bush’s speech on education reform is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

BOARD OF EDUCATION…The State Board of Education is scheduled to hold a 10 a.m. conference call where the board will vote on changes to the rules for the Sunshine State Standards. The number for call is 1-888-808-6959. The code is 4617163.

MCCOLLUM…Attorney General Bill McCollum is scheduled to make a policy announcement during his remarks before the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club in Clearwater. McCollum is scheduled to speak at 12 p.m. at the Feather Sound Country Club, 2201 Feather Sound Drive.

RATE HEARING…Castle Key Insurance Company and Castle Key Indemnity, subsidiaries of Allstate Insurance, have asked for rate hikes ranging from 33 percent to 18 percent. The Office of Insurance Regulation is holding a public hearing on the rate hike at 1 p.m. in 401 Senate Office Building.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28

RECOVERY TASK FORCE…The Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force meets at HarborWalk Village in Destin. The time and agenda have not yet been set.

THURSDAY, JULY 29

NEW POLLS…Quinnipiac University is scheduled to release a new round of polls on Florida races this week. Pollsters from the university polling institute plan to hold press conferences on both Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m.

CABINET…The Governor and Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on Thursday in the Cabinet room in the Capitol. Included on the agenda is an update on the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on Florida. The Cabinet will also considers marina requests in Okaloosa, Clay and Lee counties and a dispute over ownership of submerged land along the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville.

AMENDMENT 9 LAWSUIT…A Leon County Circuit judge will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on the lawsuit asking that Amendment 9 – the “health care freedom” amendment – be struck down from the 2010 ballot.

FRIDAY, JULY 30

HIGHWAY SAFETY MONEY…Economists are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. in 301 Capitol to draw up new revenue estimates for fees generated from driver’s license fees and other fines related to driving.

SATURDAY, JULY 31

GOP ATTORNEY GENERAL DEBATE… The three GOP candidates for attorney general are scheduled to hold a debate at 12 p.m. in Tampa. The debate will be hosted by Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 1

U.S. SENATE DEBATE….Jeff Greene and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek – the two Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate - are scheduled to hold a debate with Bay News 9 in St. Petersburg.