TALLAHASSEE Gov. Rick Scott’s cost-saving measures in his budget proposal includes shutting six prisons because of a drop in the inmate population. That’s one of the five essentials to watch for Thursday.

•  The big question is, which prisons? Closing a prison means eliminating jobs, and that is very painful in small-town Florida, where most prisons are located. The Department of Corrections will propose to the Legislature which ones should close.

•  Also Thursday, state economists will revisit the state’s revenue picture and update it for lawmakers in a process known as a revenue estimating conference. If the latest projection is not rosy, that’s bad news for health care and education programs.

•  Several of Scott’s agency heads face confirmation hearings in the Senate, including corrections chief Ken Tucker and elder affairs secretary Charles Corley. No major fireworks are expected; it’s rare for lawmakers to put a high-level bureaucrat on the hot seat in public.

•  Legislation that would outlaw texting while driving gets its first hearing of the year in a Senate committee. The bill (SB 416) is sponsored by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice.

•  The Florida Chamber of Commerce starts its annual Capitol Days, promoting its pro-business agenda, with events at the Capitol, the Governor’s Club and Hotel Duval in Tallahassee.