the state REPORT

Romney set to jump on Rubio bandwagon

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will endorse Marco Rubio in Florida's Republican Senate primary more than two years after Gov. Charlie Crist helped crush Romney's presidential aspirations by endorsing rival John McCain. Romney plans to announce the endorsement today and campaign with Rubio in Tampa on Monday, the Associated Press reported. Romney is the third major 2008 presidential candidate to endorse Rubio. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have also endorsed the former House speaker.

Meek adds $1M, picks up buzz

Amid all the Crist/Rubio buzz, we neglected to log in Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek's latest fundraising haul: more than $1 million in the last quarter, according to the campaign, bringing his cash on hand to more than $3.7 million. Meek has been getting some good Beltway Buzz lately. "Democratic strategists are getting excited about Meek. I think there will be a lot more money devoted to that race," Politico's Jim VandeHei said on Morning Joe.

House, Senate still split on budget

The House and Senate budget conferees will begin with an organizational meeting this morning, but are expected to need to work next week as they try to find consensus on the spending plan for the coming fiscal year. Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said the two chambers still remain divided as the weekend begins over whether to include $880 million in long-anticipated Medicaid cash from the federal government. Florida's Washington office is warning that the money may not materialize, but Senate President Jeff Atwater said the Senate is still confident the money will emerge and the Legislature won't have to make drastic cuts in its budget.

Lottery line out of immigrant bill

With little debate, the lottery provision was excised from an anti-illegal immigration bill in the House. The subject of a Steve Bousquet column, the measure would have barred illegal immigrants from winning the lottery. They could still play and contribute to education funding; they just couldn't collect any prizes. Sponsoring Rep. Sandy Adams removed the section with an amendment Friday. Neither the amendment nor the overall bill (which requires businesses to participate in a federal worker verification program known as E-Verify) garnered any discussion.

Times staff writers Adam C. Smith and Lee Logan, Associated Press