Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney takes to the campaign trail to help Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott on Friday.

Private property insurers might as well abandon their slim hopes for permission from the state to raise their rates, at least for the remainder of this legislative session.

A Senate challenge to Gov. Charlie Crist’s vow to defeat any measure to raise residential property insurance rates was halted by its sponsor Tuesday.

While Attorney General Bill McCollum and health care executive Rick Scott, the two leading candidates battling for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, have taken President Barack Obama to task for launching a lawsuit suing Arizona over new laws on immigration, Florida’s congressional Republicans are not out front on the issue.

The House sprinted toward the end of the legislative session Wednesday, tackling almost 120 legislative items in an lengthy meeting that extended through most of the day.

The House will be set to vote on the budget after 2:59 p.m. Friday in accordance with the mandate that there need to be at least 72 hours between the publication of the budget and the final vote on it.